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Ashigan Lake

Lake County, Minnesota153 acresView mapDirections

Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Ashigan Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
12.2 ft
Typical for Minnesota
Secchi · sampled 2025
Max depth
59 ft
Bathymetric survey
Area
153 acres
Surface area
Trend
Improving
5 years of samples
Shoreline
3.5 mi
Measured length
  • 59 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Ashigan Lake in Lake County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.2 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 59 ft. Surface area: 153.33 acres.

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 30, 1974 caught 10.33 smallmouth bass per gill net at Ashigan Lake. DNR survey details →

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Ashigan Lake is a 153-acre lake in Lake County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 59 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-07-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

What Ashigan Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Clear water12.2 ft of visibility
  • Deep water59 ft surveyed max depth

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Ashigan Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota DNR and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.

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Water quality measurements for Ashigan Lake

These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Ashigan Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Good clarity, visible to about 12.2 ft. TSI 41.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)12.2ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorusNo reading

The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential.

Chlorophyll-a (algae)No reading

The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water.

Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a.41Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Ashigan Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

DNR fisheries survey

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 30, 1974 caught 10.33 smallmouth bass per gill net at Ashigan Lake.

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Ashigan Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR Fisheries Survey Summary

3 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-08-19 (Targeted Survey).

3 surveys on file · most recent 2025-08-19 (Targeted Survey)

SpeciesCatch rate (CPUE)SizeAvg weight
Smallmouth Bass
10.33
0.35 lb
Tullibee (Cisco)
6.00
0.33 lb
Yellow Perch
3.33
0.28 lb
White Sucker
2.33
2.79 lb
Green Sunfish
1.33
0.1 lb

CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.

From the 2025-08-19 survey

Temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements were collected from the deepest basin in Ashigan Lake on August 19th, 2025, to evaluate the quantity and quality of cold, oxygenated water (i.e., oxythermal habitat) available to Cisco, also known as Tullibee, the most sensitive coldwater species present in this lake.…

Source: MN DNR LakeFinder Fisheries Lake Survey

DNR Reports & Resources

Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Ashigan Lake. 1 report on file.

These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).

Lake Details

Max depth

59 ft

Surface area

153 acres

Shoreline

3.5 mi

Littoral zone

6%

Share shallower than 15 ft

Public access

No

Listed by Minnesota PCA

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Stays near Ashigan Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Ashigan Lake in Lake County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.

Top-rated places to stay near Ashigan Lake

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Fishing Ashigan Lake

Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2025).

  • Water clarity

    Improving

    5 years

See year-by-year chart →

Nearby Lakes in Lake County

Frequently asked questions about Ashigan Lake

Where is Ashigan Lake?

Ashigan Lake is a lake in Lake County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Ashigan Lake?

Ashigan Lake in Lake County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.2 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 59 ft. Surface area: 153.33 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Ashigan Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Ashigan Lake?

Ashigan Lake has a maximum depth of 59 feet. The lake covers 153.33 acres.

What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Ashigan Lake?

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 30, 1974 caught 10.33 smallmouth bass per gill net at Ashigan Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Ashigan Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR on this page ↑

Can I fish at Ashigan Lake?

Public access to Ashigan Lake is listed as no on the lake record, so confirm before you make the trip. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Minnesota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.

Where this data comes from

27 measurements from 8 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface WaterMNPCA27 samples · 2020–2025

Analytical methods

  • Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (8)

EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.

Other records on this page

Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder