Shaokotan Lake

Shaokotan Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Minnesota average. The lake's weakest score is on Secchi depth — the water looks more turbid than its phosphorus number alone would predict.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. Shaokotan Lake is a shallow lake at 10 ft maximum depth, which means it warms quickly, mixes constantly, and amplifies nutrient inputs. Shaokotan Lake covers 996 acres alongside 8.7 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Shaokotan Lake sits at rank 3 of 5 in Lincoln County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Shaokotan Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 8 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been logged at Shaokotan Lake more than two dozen times, putting the median around Mar 31 — a useful baseline for tracking climate trends. 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.