Lower Pauness Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota171 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Lower Pauness Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 36 ft max depth
- Limited data
Lower Pauness Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.7 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 36 ft. Surface area: 171.13 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 23, 2025 caught 1.17 walleye per gill net at Lower Pauness Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–15 inches. DNR survey details →
Lower Pauness Lake is a 171-acre lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 36 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 7 documented fish species including burbot, 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 2024-09-05. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lower Pauness Lake covers about 170 acres in St. Louis County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Lower Pauness Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Lower Pauness Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Fishing7 species recorded
- Deep water36 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lower Pauness Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lower Pauness 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 Lower Pauness Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Lower Pauness 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 5.7 ft. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.7ft | 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. | 52 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lower Pauness Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 23, 2025 caught 1.17 walleye per gill net at Lower Pauness Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–15 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Lower Pauness Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 2 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
2 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-06-23 (Standard Survey).
2 surveys on file · most recent 2025-06-23 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Sucker | 6.25 | 10–19 in 2025-06-23 | 2.05 lb |
| Yellow Perch | 3.83 | 5–10 in 2025-06-23 | 0.22 lb |
| Northern Pike | 1.75 | 10–25 in 2025-06-23 | 1.27 lb |
| Walleye | 1.17 | 7–15 in 2025-06-23 | 0.65 lb |
| Smallmouth Bass | 0.83 | 11–15 in 2025-06-23 | 1.52 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.
White Sucker
Yellow Perch
Northern Pike
Walleye
From the 2025-06-23 survey
Lower Pauness Lake is a 156-acre, class-10 lake located in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northern St. Louis County located approximately 12 miles east-southeast of Crane Lake, Minnesota. Lower Pauness Lake consists of two basins (north and south) joined by a shallow riverine section. The south…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Lower Pauness Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — Lower PaunessFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
36 ft
Surface area
171 acres
Shoreline
5 mi
Littoral zone
66%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
113 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,227 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lower Pauness Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Lower Pauness Lake
- → Lower Pauness Lake fishing: DNR survey catch rates, species & stocking
- → Lower Pauness Lake fishing forecast & best times (species outlook + 14-day solunar calendar)
- → Lower Pauness Lake fishing regulations (limits, seasons, special rules)
- → Is it safe to eat fish from Lower Pauness Lake? (mercury & PFAS guide)
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2021–2024). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
EPA Impairment Status
Lower Pauness Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN69-0464-00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in St. Louis County
Frequently asked questions about Lower Pauness Lake
Where is Lower Pauness Lake?
- Lower Pauness Lake is a lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lower Pauness Lake?
- Lower Pauness Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.7 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 36 ft. Surface area: 171.13 acres.
Is Lower Pauness Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lower Pauness Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lower Pauness Lake?
- Lower Pauness Lake has a maximum depth of 36 feet. The lake covers 171.13 acres.
What fish are in Lower Pauness Lake?
- Fish species found in Lower Pauness Lake include burbot, northern pike, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch. Lower Pauness Lake is located in St. Louis County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Lower Pauness Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 23, 2025 caught 1.17 walleye per gill net at Lower Pauness Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–15 inches. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Lower Pauness Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 2 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Can I fish at Lower Pauness Lake?
- Public access to Lower Pauness 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.
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Where this data comes from
2 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA2 samples · 2021–2024
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 size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder