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LakeQuality
The bow of a canoe on flat evening water, a spruce and birch shoreline ahead, in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Updated August 2026

Child Lake Fishing

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 1, 2024 caught 0.50 walleye per gill net at Child Lake. In Cass County, Minnesota, Child Lake has nutrient and algae readings on record from state and federal monitoring. Water clarity averages 12.1 feet of visibility, and the lake has public access. The survey figures on this page are Minnesota DNR's own; the water-quality readings come from EPA Water Quality Portal samples. Neither is a forecast of today's bite.

Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest July 1, 2024

Species recorded at Child Lake

17 species on the Minnesota DNR list for this lake. A species on the list has been recorded here; it does not mean it is catchable today or in every part of the lake.

Stocking at Child Lake

Minnesota DNR publishes a stocking history for this lake — which species went in, how many, and in which years. Read the years: a lake stocked in one year is not necessarily stocked in the next.

Getting on the water

Minnesota DNR lists the public access sites, including ramp type and parking, in the documents below.

Survey results in full

DNR fisheries survey

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 1, 2024 caught 0.50 walleye per gill net at Child Lake.

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Child Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR Fisheries Survey Summary

12 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2024-07-01 (Standard Survey).

12 surveys on file · most recent 2024-07-01 (Standard Survey)

SpeciesCatch rate (CPUE)SizeAvg weight
Bluntnose Minnow
12.35
Bluegill
7.66
2–7 in
2024-07-01
0.21 lb
Golden Shiner
6.10
5 in
2008-07-21
0.06 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.

Length Distributions

Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.

Bluegill

144 fish · 2–7 in · 2024-07-01
65330234567

Golden Shiner

1 fish · 5–5 in · 2008-07-21
105

From the 2024-07-01 survey

Child Lake (DOW # 11-0263; Lake Class 31) is a 285-acre lake with 158 littoral acres, 4.56 miles of shoreline, and a maximum depth of 29 feet located near Hackensack, MN. There is a primitive, user-developed earthen access on state-owned land on the south shore off Cass County Highway 5. Child Lake is also accessible…

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 Child Lake. 4 reports on file.

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

Common questions

What fish are in Child Lake?

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 1, 2024 caught 0.50 walleye per gill net at Child Lake. Minnesota DNR lists 17 species for the lake in total. Those are survey results, not a catch report: a net set on one date measures what was in that net.

When was Child Lake last surveyed?

The most recent fisheries survey on file for Child Lake is dated July 1, 2024. Survey intervals vary by lake and by species; a gap of several years between surveys is normal and does not mean the record is missing.

Is Child Lake stocked?

Minnesota DNR publishes a stocking history for Child Lake. It records which species were released, in what numbers and in which years — the source documents are linked further down this page. A lake can be stocked in some years and not others, so read the years rather than assuming an annual release.

Do the water-quality readings tell me how Child Lake fishes?

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Child Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

Before you eat what you catch

Water-quality readings are not a consumption advisory. Mercury and PCB advice for Minnesota waters comes from MDH, and it is issued per species and per size class: a lake with clear, low-nutrient water can still carry a meal limit on larger predator fish.

Where to stay near Child Lake

Top-rated places to stay near Child Lake

Prices for Oct 16–18, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.

See the full where-to-stay map for Child Lake →

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