Wolf Lake

Wolf Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Minnesota average.

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. Wolf Lake reaches 31 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 173 acres, Wolf Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 2.3 miles of shoreline. Within the 53 graded lakes of Aitkin County, Wolf Lake sits at rank 43, near the bottom of the county list.

No invasive species are currently listed at Wolf Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery is panfish-dominated — bluegill, crappie, and sunfish among the 7 species documented for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. 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.