First Crow Wing Lake

First Crow Wing Lake sits at a C on the grading scale — not impaired, not pristine, with summer measurements that vary year to year. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

At a TSI of 52, First Crow Wing Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. The lake bottoms out at 15 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. First Crow Wing Lake covers 522 acres alongside 4.4 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. First Crow Wing Lake ranks 77 of 77 in Hubbard County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

First Crow Wing Lake has at least one documented invasive species (faucet snail), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 17 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. Ice-out has been recorded 5 times at First Crow Wing Lake, with a median around Apr 16. 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.