Bloody Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric Bloody Lake fails the cutoffs — a TSI of 80 and persistent algal pressure put it in the bottom tier. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The hypereutrophic status — TSI 80 — reflects sustained heavy nutrient loading from the surrounding watershed and frequent algal pressure. Bloody Lake is a shallow lake at 9 ft maximum depth, which means it warms quickly, mixes constantly, and amplifies nutrient inputs. At 274 acres, Bloody Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 5.6 miles of shoreline. Bloody Lake ranks 8 of 10 in Murray County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Bloody Lake is on the Minnesota infested-waters list for zebra mussels — boaters should follow clean-drain-dry protocols when moving gear to or from the lake. Walleye are documented at Bloody Lake, one of 15 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Bloody Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Ice-out has been recorded 6 times at Bloody Lake, with a median around Apr 3. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.