Ada Lake
Cass County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 11025000
DNR records show 7 stocking entries at Ada Lake since 2020, most recently walleye yearlings in 2025 (1,272 fish).
- Ada Lake has 7 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2020-2025): walleye (7).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 2,101,885 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 60 ft; surface area 963 acres, 424 littoral acres, 7.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.6 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, tullibee (cisco), and 4 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Cass County, nearest town Backus; DNR lake number (DOW) 11025000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/22/1957 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 1,272 | 212.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 225 | 75.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 823,600 | 6.7 |
| 2023 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 848 | 212.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | adults | 760 | 380.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 1,272,000 | 10.6 |
| 2020 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 3,180 | 212.0 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.
Field note · Minnesota stocks by year, not by truck day: walleye fry go in within weeks of ice-out, fingerlings and yearlings mostly in fall, and stream trout in spring and fall. A row here means the fish went in during that year; DNR adds the year's rows after the fact, so the current year can look empty until winter.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | PUBLIC ASSESS N END OF LAKE |
DNR fish survey, 2022
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 27.58 | 331 | 0.16 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 2.92 | 35 | 0.22 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 1.83 | 22 | 0.21 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.67 | 20 | 0.67 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.17 | 14 | 0.34 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 12 | 0.43 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.92 | 11 | 0.29 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.75 | 9 | 2.75 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 19.33 | 232 | 0.47 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 11.08 | 133 | 1.96 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 5.75 | 69 | 0.33 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 4.50 | 54 | 0.26 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 3.92 | 47 | 0.13 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 3.33 | 40 | 0.79 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 3.17 | 38 | 2.10 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 36 | 0.13 |
Catch per net (CPUE) is the DNR survey's count per gill net or trap net set; higher means more of that species were sampled, not a fishing forecast. Top species per gear shown; where we have no verified common name for a DNR code, the code itself is shown.
Ada Lake is a 963-acre lake with 7.21 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 60 feet located east of Backus, MN. A DNR owned public access is located on the northeast shore. The DNR has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different classes based on physical, chemical and other characteristics. Ada Lake is in Lake Class 27; lakes in this class are fairly deep and large. Other area lakes in this class include Crooked, Lower Sucker, Pleasant, Webb and Six Mile Lake. Ada Lake possesses a highly developed shoreline. The lake is primarily managed for Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, and Northern Pike and secondarily for Walleye, Yellow Perch, and Cisco. Ada Lake provides multi-species angling opportunity with the potential to produce large fish. Northern Pike are abundant, exceeding the lake's maximum management goal. Sampled pike ranged from 14 to 39 inches long. Black Crappie catch rates met lake management size and catch goals and crappie 4 to 14 inches were sampled. Walleye abundance in the lake is low (3.2 fish per net) and lengths ranged from 13 to 25 inches long. Programmed Walleye stocking was discontinued after 2015 and replaced with surplus Walleye fry, fingerlings, or larger fish stockings when available, the most recent of which was in 2021. Bluegill catch rates fell within the target management range and exceeded size goals with roughly half of sampled fish measuring 6 inches or longer. Cisco and Yellow Perch abundance has remained low across historic surveys, though have consistently been present in catch since initial surveying. Other fish species that anglers can expect to encounter include, Brown Bullhead, Bowfin, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Rock Bass, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead. People can have significant impacts on lakes and the fish populations they support. Harvest, lakeshore development, removal of shoreline vegetation, and introductions of invasive species can all adversely affect fish populations. Currently, no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Ada Lake. AIS are moved from infested to non-infested waters by anglers, boaters, and lake shore owners and can adversely impact lakes and fish populations. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access. If you suspect an infestation of an invasive species in this lake, save a specimen and report it to a local natural resource office. Additional information on all of these topics can be found on the DNR website…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02; contours are the DNR bathymetric survey. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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