Mud Lake
Wright County, Minnesota57 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Mud Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 65 ft max depth
- Public access
Mud Lake in Wright County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 28 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 8.7 µg/L. Maximum depth: 65 ft. Surface area: 56.59 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 21, 2010 caught 1.33 walleye per gill net at Mud Lake. DNR survey details →
Mud Lake is a 57-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Wright County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 65 feet (21-foot average). Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 15 documented fish species including black bullhead, black crappie, and bluegill. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 50 other monitored lakes in Wright County, Mud Lake ranks #17 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2023-09-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Mud Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Fishing15 species recorded
- Deep water65 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Mud 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 Mud Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Mud 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 5.6 ft. Phosphorus 28 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 8.7 µg/L. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 28µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 8.7µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| 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 Mud Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 21, 2010 caught 1.33 walleye per gill net at Mud Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Mud Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 3 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
4 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2010-06-21 (Standard Survey).
4 surveys on file · most recent 2010-06-21 (Standard Survey)
16 years old| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 47.07 | 2–8 in 2010-06-21 | 0.2 lb |
| Largemouth Bass | 42.21 | 6–18 in 2010-06-21 | 1.11 lb |
| Green Sunfish | 37.12 | 3 in 2010-06-21 | 0.06 lb |
| Yellow Perch | 25.11 | 5–7 in 2010-06-21 | 0.13 lb |
| Black Crappie | 10.53 | 6–10 in 2010-06-21 | 0.23 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.
Bluegill
Largemouth Bass
Green Sunfish
Yellow Perch
From the 2010-06-21 survey
Skifstrom (Mud) Lake is a small (56 acres) eutrophic lake located about six miles north of the city of Cokato. It has a maximum depth of 65 feet and poor water quality. Secchi disk transparency was five feet and dissolved oxygen was good down to 21 feet. The aquatic plant community is sparse. Only ten species of…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Mud Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — MudFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Public Water Access Sites — MudPublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
65 ft
Average depth
20.5 ft
Surface area
57 acres
Shoreline
1.1 mi
Littoral zone
51%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
984 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Recreation & Access
- SkifstromPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Mud Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Mud Lake in Wright 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 Mud Lake
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Follow Mud Lake’s readings
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Mud Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2021–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Stable3 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+4 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+1.15 µg/L/yr3 years
Nearby Lakes in Wright County
Frequently asked questions about Mud Lake
Where is Mud Lake?
- Mud 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 Mud Lake?
- Mud Lake in Wright County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 28 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 8.7 µg/L. Maximum depth: 65 ft. Surface area: 56.59 acres.
Is Mud Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Mud Lake?
- Mud Lake has a maximum depth of 65 feet and an average depth of 20.5 feet. The lake covers 56.59 acres.
What fish are in Mud Lake?
- Fish species found in Mud Lake include black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch. Mud Lake is located in Wright County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Mud Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 21, 2010 caught 1.33 walleye per gill net at Mud Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Mud Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 3 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Are there boat ramps on Mud Lake?
- Mud Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Skifstrom. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Mud Lake?
- Mud Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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 Mud Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
39 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA39 samples · 2021–2023
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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 size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory