Tin Can Mike Lake

Tin Can Mike Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Minnesota lake of its size and depth. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

A TSI near 43 places Tin Can Mike Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. The lake bottoms out at 29 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Tin Can Mike Lake covers 145 acres alongside 3.4 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Tin Can Mike Lake ranks 50 of 142 in Lake County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Tin Can Mike Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Tin Can Mike Lake, one of 6 fish species on record for the lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.