Sea Gull Lake
Cook County, Minnesota168 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Sea Gull Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 40 ft max depth
- Public access
Sea Gull Lake in Cook County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 14.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.7 µg/L. Maximum depth: 40 ft. Surface area: 167.88 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 14, 2017 caught 1.83 walleye per gill net at Sea Gull Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–23 inches. DNR survey details →
Sea Gull Lake is a 168-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Cook County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 40 feet. The lake supports 12 documented fish species including black crappie, bluegill, and burbot. Public access is available. Compared to the 43 other monitored lakes in Cook County, Sea Gull Lake ranks #17 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-10-15. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Sea Gull Lake covers about 170 acres in Cook County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Sea Gull Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Sea Gull Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water14.3 ft of visibility
- Fishing12 species recorded
- Deep water40 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow 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 Sea Gull 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 Sea Gull Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Sea Gull 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 14.3 ft. Phosphorus 7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.7 µg/L. TSI 37.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 14.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 7µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.7µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 37 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Sea Gull Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 14, 2017 caught 1.83 walleye per gill net at Sea Gull Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–23 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Sea Gull Lake’s water-quality measurements separately. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
5 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2017-08-14 (Standard Survey).
5 surveys on file · most recent 2017-08-14 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smallmouth Bass | 2.55 | 1–17 in 2017-08-14 | 1.19 lb |
| Tullibee (Cisco) | 1.94 | 13–17 in 1998-08-24 | 1.07 lb |
| Walleye | 1.49 | 7–23 in 2017-08-14 | 0.93 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.
Smallmouth Bass
Tullibee (Cisco)
Walleye
From the 2017-08-14 survey
Gull Lake lies on the Sea Gull River between Sea Gull Lake (upstream) and Saganaga Lake (downstream), and was last surveyed in 1998. Movement of fish between Saganaga and Gull Lakes occurs regularly, while a barrier falls blocks movement of fish (and other organisms) from Gull Lake to Sea Gull Lake. This standard…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Sea Gull Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — GullFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Public Water Access Sites — GullPublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
40 ft
Surface area
168 acres
Shoreline
7.2 mi
Littoral zone
65%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
31 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,447 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Sea Gull Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Sea Gull 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 Sea Gull Lake
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Fish Species
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Fishing Sea Gull Lake
Nearby Lakes in Cook County
Frequently asked questions about Sea Gull Lake
Where is Sea Gull Lake?
- Sea Gull 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 Sea Gull Lake?
- Sea Gull Lake in Cook County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 14.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.7 µg/L. Maximum depth: 40 ft. Surface area: 167.88 acres.
Is Sea Gull Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Sea Gull Lake?
- Sea Gull Lake has a maximum depth of 40 feet. The lake covers 167.88 acres.
What fish are in Sea Gull Lake?
- Fish species found in Sea Gull Lake include black crappie, bluegill, burbot, cisco species, green sunfish, lake whitefish, northern pike, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch. Sea Gull Lake is located in Cook County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Sea Gull Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 14, 2017 caught 1.83 walleye per gill net at Sea Gull Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–23 inches. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Sea Gull Lake’s water-quality measurements separately. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Can I fish at Sea Gull Lake?
- Public access to Sea Gull Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. 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 Sea Gull Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
129 measurements from 6 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA129 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (6)
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