Mesaba Lake
Cook County, Minnesota213 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Mesaba Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 65 ft max depth
- Limited data
Mesaba Lake in Cook County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 65 ft. Surface area: 213.13 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 22, 2022 caught 0.17 northern pike per gill net at Mesaba Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 26–26 inches. DNR survey details →
Mesaba Lake is a 213-acre lake in Cook County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 65 feet (24-foot average). Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 4 documented fish species including green sunfish, lake trout, and northern pike. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2021-07-03. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Mesaba Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water10 ft of visibility
- Fishing4 species recorded
- Deep water65 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Mesaba Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Mesaba 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 Mesaba Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Mesaba Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft. TSI 44.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 10ft | 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. | 44 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Mesaba Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 22, 2022 caught 0.17 northern pike per gill net at Mesaba Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 26–26 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Mesaba Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 2 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
6 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-08-04 (Targeted Survey).
6 surveys on file · most recent 2025-08-04 (Targeted Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Sucker | 7.66 | 7–19 in 2022-06-22 | 1.43 lb |
| Lake Trout | 2.83 | 9–26 in 2022-06-22 | 4.46 lb |
| Northern Pike | 2.56 | 26 in 2022-06-22 | 2.99 lb |
| Green Sunfish | 1.00 | 4–5 in 2022-06-22 | 0.08 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
Lake Trout
Northern Pike
Green Sunfish
From the 2025-08-04 survey
Temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements were collected from the deepest basin in Mesaba Lake on August 4th, 2025, to evaluate the quantity and quality of cold, oxygenated water (i.e., oxythermal habitat) available to Lake Trout, the most sensitive coldwater species present in this lake. During the summer,…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Mesaba Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — MesabaFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
65 ft
Average depth
24.4 ft
Surface area
213 acres
Shoreline
6.6 mi
Littoral zone
40%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
8 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,736 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Mesaba Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Mesaba Lake in Cook 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 Mesaba Lake
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Follow Mesaba Lake’s readings
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Mesaba Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2021–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
EPA Impairment Status
Mesaba Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN16-0673-00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Cook County
Frequently asked questions about Mesaba Lake
Where is Mesaba Lake?
- Mesaba Lake is a lake in Cook County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Mesaba Lake?
- Mesaba Lake in Cook County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 65 ft. Surface area: 213.13 acres.
Is Mesaba Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Mesaba Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Mesaba Lake?
- Mesaba Lake has a maximum depth of 65 feet and an average depth of 24.4 feet. The lake covers 213.13 acres.
What fish are in Mesaba Lake?
- Fish species found in Mesaba Lake include green sunfish, lake trout, northern pike, white sucker. Mesaba Lake is located in Cook County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Mesaba Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 22, 2022 caught 0.17 northern pike per gill net at Mesaba Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 26–26 inches. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Mesaba Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 2 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Can I fish at Mesaba Lake?
- Public access to Mesaba 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 Mesaba Lake across LakeQuality
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Fish species and best lakes in Cook County
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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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 Water
MNPCA1 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 size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder