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Gabbro Lake

Lake County, Minnesota977 acresView mapDirections

Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Gabbro Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
4.3 ft
Typical for Minnesota
Secchi · sampled 2021
Max depth
50 ft
Bathymetric survey
Area
977 acres
Surface area
Shoreline
23.7 mi
Measured length
  • Impaired · Mercury
  • 50 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Gabbro Lake in Lake County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.3 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 50 ft. Surface area: 976.77 acres.

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 12, 2016 caught 7.25 walleye per gill net at Gabbro Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–19 inches. DNR survey details →

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Gabbro Lake is a 977-acre lake in Lake County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 50 feet. The lake supports 8 documented fish species including black crappie, northern pike, and rock bass. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2021-06-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Gabbro Lake covers about 980 acres in Lake County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Gabbro Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.

What Gabbro Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Fishing8 species recorded
  • Deep water50 ft surveyed max depth

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Gabbro Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Gabbro 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.

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Water quality measurements for Gabbro Lake

These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Gabbro Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Murky, only visible to about 4.3 ft. TSI 56.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)4.3ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorusNo reading

The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential.

Chlorophyll-a (algae)No reading

The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water.

Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a.56Eutrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity

Ask about Gabbro Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

DNR fisheries survey

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 12, 2016 caught 7.25 walleye per gill net at Gabbro Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–19 inches.

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Gabbro Lake’s water-quality measurements separately. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR Fisheries Survey Summary

5 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-07-29 (Targeted Survey).

5 surveys on file · most recent 2025-07-29 (Targeted Survey)

SpeciesCatch rate (CPUE)SizeAvg weight
Tullibee (Cisco)
12.00
8–14 in
2016-09-12
0.42 lb
Walleye
7.00
7–19 in
2016-09-12
0.81 lb
Yellow Perch
3.92
5–10 in
2016-09-12
0.24 lb
White Sucker
3.13
6–18 in
2016-09-12
1.42 lb
Northern Pike
2.29
18–35 in
2016-09-12
3.66 lb
Rock Bass
1.62
5–9 in
2016-09-12
0.4 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.

Tullibee (Cisco)

98 fish · 8–14 in · 2016-09-12
39200891011121314

Walleye

58 fish · 7–19 in · 2016-09-12
168078910111213141516171819

Yellow Perch

38 fish · 5–10 in · 2016-09-12
15805678910

White Sucker

18 fish · 6–18 in · 2016-09-12
7406789101112131415161718

From the 2025-07-29 survey

Temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements were collected from the deepest basin in Gabbro Lake on July 29th, 2025, to evaluate the quantity and quality of cold, oxygenated water (i.e., oxythermal habitat) available to Cisco, also known as Tullibee, the most sensitive coldwater species present in this lake.…

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 Gabbro Lake. 1 report on file.

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

Lake Details

Max depth

50 ft

Surface area

977 acres

Shoreline

23.7 mi

Littoral zone

47%

Share shallower than 15 ft

Public access

No

Listed by Minnesota PCA

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Gabbro Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Gabbro Lake in Lake County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.

Top-rated places to stay near Gabbro Lake

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Fish Species

Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.

Fishing Gabbro Lake

EPA Impairment Status

Gabbro Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).

Causes of impairment

Mercury

Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN38-0701-00 · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in Lake County

Frequently asked questions about Gabbro Lake

Where is Gabbro Lake?

Gabbro Lake is a lake in Lake County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Gabbro Lake?

Gabbro Lake in Lake County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.3 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 50 ft. Surface area: 976.77 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Gabbro Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Gabbro Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Gabbro Lake?

Gabbro Lake has a maximum depth of 50 feet. The lake covers 976.77 acres.

What fish are in Gabbro Lake?

Fish species found in Gabbro Lake include black crappie, northern pike, rock bass, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, yellow perch. Gabbro Lake is located in Lake County, Minnesota.

Fish on this page ↑

What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Gabbro Lake?

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 12, 2016 caught 7.25 walleye per gill net at Gabbro Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–19 inches. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Gabbro Lake’s water-quality measurements separately. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR on this page ↑

Can I fish at Gabbro Lake?

Public access to Gabbro 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.

Where this data comes from

1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface WaterMNPCA1 sample · 2021

Analytical methods

  • Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (1)

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

Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database

Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder