Crooked Lake
Cass County, Minnesota582 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Crooked Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 74 ft max depth
Crooked Lake in Cass County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 13 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4 µg/L. Maximum depth: 74 ft. Surface area: 581.83 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Targeted Survey on August 25, 2025 caught 6.11 walleye per gill net at Crooked Lake. DNR survey details →
Crooked Lake is a 582-acre mesotrophic lake in Cass County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 74 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 13 documented fish species including black crappie, bluegill, and bowfin (dogfish). No public access — the lake is private or restricted. Compared to the 103 other monitored lakes in Cass County, Crooked Lake ranks #17 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2024-10-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Crooked Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water12 ft of visibility
- Fishing13 species recorded
- Deep water74 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Crooked 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.
Water quality measurements for Crooked Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Crooked 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 ft. Phosphorus 13 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 4 µg/L. TSI 42.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 12ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 13µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 4µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 42 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Crooked Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Crooked Lake typically sits around 51°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 54°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 55°F) and coldest in May (about 46°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (46°F) to its warmest (55°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 395 field readings (2023–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Crooked Lake water temperature breakdown →
Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
There’s no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Crooked Lake — clouds, ice, or an off-season gap in coverage. The most recent reading was high (111,686 cells/mL) on May 23, 2026.
Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check your state’s current advisory before swimming. EPA CyAN ↗
Minnesota DNR's Targeted Survey on August 25, 2025 caught 6.11 walleye per gill net at Crooked Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Crooked Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 2 years of monitoring is declining. 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: 2025-08-25 (Targeted Survey).
12 surveys on file · most recent 2025-08-25 (Targeted Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow Perch | 30.46 | 5 in 2025-08-25 | 0.16 lb |
| Bluegill | 8.95 | 4–8 in 2025-08-25 | 0.17 lb |
| Bluntnose Minnow | 7.39 | ||
| Largemouth Bass | 7.36 | 7–17 in 2025-08-25 | 1.12 lb |
| Spottail Shiner | 4.02 |
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.
Yellow Perch
Bluegill
Largemouth Bass
From the 2025-08-25 survey
Crooked Lake (DOW# 11-0494; Lake Class 27) is a 565-acre lake, with 237 littoral acres, 3.7 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 74 feet located near Wilkinson, MN. There is a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) owned public access on the east shore of Welsh Lake and Crooked Lake is accessible…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Crooked Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — CrookedFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Fish Stocking History — CrookedFish Stocking History · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
74 ft
Surface area
582 acres
Shoreline
3.7 mi
Littoral zone
41%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
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Stays near Crooked Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Crooked Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2023–2024). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+4.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.6 µg/L/yr2 years
Nearby Lakes in Cass County
Frequently asked questions about Crooked Lake
Where is Crooked Lake?
- Crooked Lake is a lake in Cass County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Crooked Lake?
- Crooked Lake in Cass County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 13 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4 µg/L. Maximum depth: 74 ft. Surface area: 581.83 acres.
Is Crooked Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Crooked Lake?
- Crooked Lake typically sits around 51°F at the surface in October, from 395 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2023–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Crooked Lake?
- Crooked Lake has a maximum depth of 74 feet. The lake covers 581.83 acres.
What fish are in Crooked Lake?
- Fish species found in Crooked Lake include black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch. Crooked Lake is located in Cass County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Crooked Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Targeted Survey on August 25, 2025 caught 6.11 walleye per gill net at Crooked Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Crooked Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 2 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Does Crooked Lake have blue-green algae?
- There is no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Crooked Lake (clouds, ice, or an off-season gap). The most recent reading was high (111,686 cells/mL). Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check Minnesota's current advisory before swimming.
Can I fish at Crooked Lake?
- Public access to Crooked 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.
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Where this data comes from
63 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2023–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
LEECHLAK_WQX48 samples · 2023–2024 - Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA15 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Nitrate-Nitrite Nitrogen by Colorimetry
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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