Crooked Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Crooked Lake at a C: clarity at 9.0 ft, phosphorus readings still being added, and a TSI of 45 signal an intermediate trophic state. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

A TSI near 45 places Crooked Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. The lake's 165 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Minnesota — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. Crooked Lake covers 10,360 acres alongside 231.7 miles of shoreline, large enough that conditions can vary meaningfully between bays. Within Lake County's 142 graded lakes, Crooked Lake ranks 92 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Crooked Lake has at least one documented invasive species (spiny waterflea), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Crooked Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. 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.