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Gull Lake

Cass County, MinnesotaMesotrophic

Gull Lake earns an A — every scored parameter (clarity and phosphorus) rates among the best monitored waters in Cass County. The two scored sub-grades — clarity and phosphorus — track close together, so neither one is dragging the average down.

A TSI near 40 places Gull Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. Gull Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 80 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. Gull Lake covers 10,010 acres alongside 46.1 miles of shoreline, large enough that conditions can vary meaningfully between bays. Among the 132 graded lakes in Cass County, Gull Lake sits at rank 57, above the county median.

Gull Lake is on the Minnesota infested-waters list for zebra mussels — boaters should follow clean-drain-dry protocols when moving gear to or from the lake. Gull Lake's fishery is anchored by muskellunge, with 22 documented species in total — a destination water for muskie anglers. A documented public access point at Gull Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The lake has a long ice-out record — 98 observations on file, with a median ice-out around Apr 21. 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 2024-08-13. Grade methodology: LakeGrade methodology.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated

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Swimming Safety

Excellent for swimming, crystal clear water with minimal algae

Water Quality Grade: A, Excellent

Good clarity, visible to about 14.5 ft. Phosphorus level: 14 µg/L. Trophic State Index: 40.

MetricValueGrade
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)14.5 ftB
Phosphorus14 µg/LA
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No data
Trophic State Index (TSI)40Mesotrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Lake Details

CharacteristicValue
Maximum Depth80 ft
Surface Area10.0K acres
Shoreline Length46.1 mi
Littoral Zone28%
Public AccessYes

Fish Species

black bullhead,black crappie,bluegill,bowfin (dogfish),brown bullhead,burbot,common carp,green sunfish,hybrid sunfish,largemouth bass,muskellunge,northern pike,pumpkinseed,rock bass,shorthead redhorse,smallmouth bass,sunfish,tullibee (cisco),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 Gull Lake (14-day solunar calendar)

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

Gull 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.

zebra mussel

Ice Season

Historical ice data from Minnesota DNR (138 observations).

Typical Ice-Out
Apr 21
Typical Ice-In
Dec 1

Estimated open water season: 224 days

EarliestLatest
Ice-Out2024-03-17 (2024)1950-05-18 (1950)
Ice-In1959-11-14 (1959)1998-12-22 (1998)

Most recent ice-out: 2025-04-18

Location

Loading map…

County Ranking

Ranked #57 of 132 lakes in Cass County

Nearby Lakes in Cass County

DNR Fisheries Survey Summary

37 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-09-23 (Targeted Survey).

Top Species by Catch Rate

SpeciesAvg CPUEAvg Weight
Yellow Perch51.500.11 lb
Walleye31.641.24 lb
Largemouth Bass16.070.89 lb
Bluegill14.440.14 lb
Northern Pike11.663.38 lb
LND11.25

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.

Yellow Perch

215 fish · 411 in · 2025-07-14
110550trophy 124567891011

Walleye

320 fish · 420 in · 2025-09-23
144720468101214161820

Largemouth Bass

253 fish · 319 in · 2025-07-14
42210trophy 204681012141618

Bluegill

532 fish · 28 in · 2025-07-14
1226102345678

From the 2025-09-23 survey

Gull Lake is normally stocked annually with Walleye fry at the rate of 1,000 per littoral acre (2,825,000 fry). Fingerlings are stocked on a contingency basis if fall electrofishing results are less than 30 young-of-the-year (YOY) Walleye per hour for two consecutive years; fingerlings were last stocked in the fall of…

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 Gull Lake. 5 reports on file.

Reservoir Info (USACE NID)

Gull Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Gull Dam (completed 1912), built primarily for recreation on the GULL RIVER; concrete-type dam, 15 ft tall and 276 ft long.

Surface area
13,000 ac
Normal storage
61,000 ac-ft
Max storage
75,300 ac-ft
Drainage area
287 sq mi
Hazard class
Low
Owner
USACE - St. Paul District

All listed purposes: Recreation;Other;Navigation;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Water Supply;Flood Risk Reduction.

Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MN00596 · Operator website

EPA Impairment Status

Gull 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 MN11-0305-00 · 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

Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate

Most recent sample: 2024-08-13

Monitoring stations: 4