Goose Lake
Wright County, Minnesota52 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Goose Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 2 aquatic invasives
- 14 ft max depth
- Limited data
Goose Lake in Wright County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 14 ft. Surface area: 51.93 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 21, 2013 caught 4.50 northern pike per gill net at Goose Lake. DNR survey details →
Goose Lake is a 52-acre lake in Wright County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 14 feet (5-foot average). The lake supports 13 documented fish species including black bullhead, black crappie, and bluegill. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-10-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Goose Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Fishing13 species recorded
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Goose 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 Goose Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Goose Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2.5 ft of visibility. TSI 64.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No 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. | 64 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Goose Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Goose Lake typically sits around 58°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 78°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 81°F) and coldest in Oct (about 58°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (58°F) to its warmest (81°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 47 field readings (2022–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Goose Lake water temperature breakdown →
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 21, 2013 caught 4.50 northern pike per gill net at Goose Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Goose Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
3 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2013-08-21 (Standard Survey).
3 surveys on file · most recent 2013-08-21 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Bullhead | 86.08 | 6–13 in 2013-08-21 | 0.3 lb |
| Black Crappie | 16.78 | 4–9 in 2013-08-21 | 0.16 lb |
| Green Sunfish | 10.67 | 0.1 lb | |
| Bluegill | 10.33 | 3–7 in 2013-08-21 | 0.23 lb |
| Hybrid Sunfish | 5.00 | 0.16 lb | |
| Largemouth Bass | 3.90 | 8–19 in 2013-08-21 | 1.77 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.
Black Bullhead
Black Crappie
Bluegill
Largemouth Bass
From the 2013-08-21 survey
Goose Lake is a 42 acre lake located southwest of the city of Buffalo in Wright County. The maximum depth is 14 feet and water clarity in 2013 was poor. The lake has a small watershed of mostly pasture and cropland. Goose Lake outlets to Deer Lake, which has a public access. The lake was last surveyed in 1988. Aquatic…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Goose Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — GooseFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
14 ft
Average depth
4.6 ft
Surface area
52 acres
Shoreline
1.3 mi
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
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Stays near Goose Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Goose Lake
Invasive & Introduced Species
Red chips are ecologically harmful invasive species. Gray chips are stocked or introduced fish that aren't a current ecological concern.
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Goose Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Deer Lake (completed 1940), built primarily for recreation on the Crow River N Fork-TR; gravity-type dam, 11 ft tall and 55 ft long.
- Surface area
- 163 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,435 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,050 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 50 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- MNDNR-Wildlife
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MN00402 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.69 km)
Nearby Lakes in Wright County
Frequently asked questions about Goose Lake
Where is Goose Lake?
- Goose Lake is a lake in Wright County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Goose Lake?
- Goose Lake in Wright County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 14 ft. Surface area: 51.93 acres.
Is Goose 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 Goose Lake?
- Goose Lake typically sits around 58°F at the surface in October, from 47 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2022–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Goose Lake?
- Goose Lake has a maximum depth of 14 feet and an average depth of 4.6 feet. The lake covers 51.93 acres.
What fish are in Goose Lake?
- Fish species found in Goose Lake include black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), channel catfish, common carp, largemouth bass, northern pike, shorthead redhorse, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch. Goose Lake is located in Wright County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Goose Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 21, 2013 caught 4.50 northern pike per gill net at Goose Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Goose Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Can I fish at Goose Lake?
- Public access to Goose 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.
Explore Goose Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
68 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA68 samples · 2020–2025
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
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder