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B

Fourth Crow Wing Lake

Hubbard County, MinnesotaMesotrophic

Fourth Crow Wing Lake carries a solid B grade — strong on most parameters, with measurements that hold up well across the summer season. With clarity and phosphorus scored, the sub-grades cluster within a letter of each other, pointing to stable conditions rather than one specific stressor.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. At only 10 ft deep, Fourth Crow Wing Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. The lake's 434 acres and 4.8 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Fourth Crow Wing Lake ranks 65 of 76 in Hubbard County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Fourth 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. Walleye are documented at Fourth Crow Wing Lake, one of 16 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. 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.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2020-09-16. Grade methodology: LakeGrade methodology.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated

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Swimming Safety

Good for swimming, clear water with low algae levels

Water Quality Grade: B, Good

Moderate clarity, visible to about 8 ft. Phosphorus level: 22 µg/L. Trophic State Index: 48.

MetricValueGrade
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)8 ftC
Phosphorus22 µg/LB
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No data
Trophic State Index (TSI)48Mesotrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Lake Details

CharacteristicValue
Maximum Depth10 ft
Average Depth5 ft
Surface Area434.2 acres
Shoreline Length4.8 mi
Littoral Zone101%
Public AccessYes

Fish Species

black crappie,bluegill,bowfin (dogfish),brown bullhead,common carp,greater redhorse,hybrid sunfish,largemouth bass,northern pike,pumpkinseed,rock bass,shorthead redhorse,walleye,white sucker,yellow bullhead,yellow perch

Click a species to see all Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes where it is found.

→ Best fishing times for Fourth Crow Wing Lake (14-day solunar calendar)

→ Is it safe to eat fish from Fourth Crow Wing Lake? (mercury & PFAS guide)

Fourth Crow Wing Lake fishing regulations (limits, seasons, special rules)

Invasive & Introduced Species

Red chips are ecologically harmful invasive species. Gray chips are stocked or introduced fish that aren't a current ecological concern.

faucet snail

Water Quality Trend: Stable

Based on 5 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).

MetricTrendChange/YearYears
Water Clarity Stable-0.015 m/yr5
Phosphorus Stable+0.3 µg/L/yr4
See year-by-year chart →

Location

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County Ranking

Ranked #65 of 76 lakes in Hubbard County

Cleaner Lakes Within 30 Miles

Fourth Crow Wing Lake holds Grade B. 4 nearby lakes hold higher grades.

See full comparison →

Nearby Lakes in Hubbard County

DNR Fisheries Survey Summary

9 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2024-05-29 (Standard Survey).

Top Species by Catch Rate

SpeciesAvg CPUEAvg Weight
BCS81.15
BNS63.50
Largemouth Bass38.421.72 lb
CSH19.00
BKF15.64
Yellow Perch15.290.21 lb

CPUE = catch per unit effort, averaged across surveys (excludes juvenile shoreline seining). Higher CPUE = more abundant in standardized sampling.

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.

Largemouth Bass

9 fish · 617 in · 2024-05-29
32067891011121314151617

Yellow Perch

29 fish · 59 in · 2024-05-29
179056789

From the 2024-05-29 survey

Fourth Crow Wing Lake is located eight miles south of Nevis in southern Hubbard County. Fourth Crow Wing is part of a chain of lakes running from Eleventh Crow Wing Lake at the headwaters, down to First Crow Wing Lake. Fourth Crow Wing Lake has a surface area of 441 acres and a maximum depth of 10 feet. A DNR-owned…

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 Fourth Crow Wing Lake. 3 reports on file.

EPA Impairment Status

Fourth Crow Wing Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).

Causes of impairment

Mercury

A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN29-0078-00 · Official waterbody report

Data Sources

Water quality data from the EPA Water Quality Portal

Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database

Grading methodology based on Metropolitan Council standards

Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder

Most recent sample: 2020-09-16

Monitoring stations: 1