McQuade Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69077500
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at McQuade Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (157,000 fish).
- McQuade Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 828,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 21 ft; surface area 173 acres, 157 littoral acres, 4.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, shorthead redhorse, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Hibbing; DNR lake number (DOW) 69077500.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey (get source); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 157,000 | 1.7 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 157,000 | 1.6 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 157,000 | 1.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 157,000 | 1.6 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.9 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| earthen ramp | Minnesota DNR | - Good access with limited parking |
| earthen ramp | Minnesota DNR | - Shallow access on north end of lake |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 13.20 | 66 | 2.05 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 8.00 | 40 | 0.09 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 6.20 | 31 | 1.76 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 5.60 | 28 | 0.19 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 2.20 | 11 | 2.78 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 1.80 | 9 | 0.28 |
| Golden shiner | Standard gill nets | 1.40 | 7 | 0.10 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 0.60 | 3 | 0.37 |
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.
McQuade Lake is a small lake located about eight miles east of Hibbing, Minnesota off County Road #592. McQuade Lake is 164 acres with a littoral area of 157 acres (96%) and a maximum depth of 21 feet. It has very hard water (alkalinity=148) and high phosphorus fertility (0.071 ppm). The water has a slight bog stain and Secchi disk readings of four to five feet. The lake receives water from a creek and outlets to the St. Louis River. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has calculated a Carlson Trophic Status Index of 59 from data collected from 2003 to 2017, indicating a eutrophic state (cf.pca.state.mn.us). Eutrophic lakes often produce algae blooms that may be a nuisance for landowners and recreators. MPCA listed the overall condition as "Not always suitable for swimming and wading due to low clarity or excessive algae caused by the presence of nutrients such as phosphorus in the water". The fisheries lake management plan (LMP) was last revised in 2014. Northern Pike and Black Crappie were considered primary management species because they were well suited to the lake. Walleye and Bluegill were considered secondary species because they were less well suited but popular with anglers. Increasing the Walleye gill net catch to the lake class median value of 2.6 per gill net was among plan objectives. To meet this objective, Walleye fry stocking was recommended, and Pike River Walleye fry were stocked in the springs of 2015, 2017, and 2019. A targeted survey using 5 gill nets was conducted in July of 2021 to evaluate the status of the fish community, determine suitability for Walleye management and evaluate recent Walleye fry stocking. Walleye were initially stocked in McQuade Lake in the 1980s with hopes of producing a self-sustaining population. Walleye have occurred in low numbers since that time. It should be noted that lakes with similar habitats to McQuade do not typically produce large Walleye populations. The 2021 catch rate of 2.2 per net was the highest observed for the lake but remained below the lake class median and failed to achieve the management plan goal of 2.6 fish per net. Like previous surveys, most Walleye were relatively large, suggesting poor recruitment. Walleye ranged from 14 to 23.8 inches and averaged 19.6 inches. Too few Walleyes were captured to confidently determine age and growth but only 3 of 10 aged fish appeared to correspond to a fry stocked year class. The presence of fish from non-stocked years suggests a small population is maintained via natural reproduction. The Walleye population in McQuade Lake remained low…
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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