Ada

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 (www.dnr.state.mn.us) or by contacting the Walker Area Fisheries office.

Ada Lake is a 963-acre lake located east of Backus, Minnesota that has 7.21 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 60 ft. There is a state owned public access on the north shore. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) has classified Minnesota lakes into 43 different classes based on physical, chemical and other characteristics. Ada Lake is in Lake Class 27; lakes in this class are generally large, deep, regularly shaped lakes. This lake is primarily managed for Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and Walleye, and secondarily for Bluegill, Black Crappie, Yellow Perch, and Tullibee (Cisco). Northern Pike are abundant in Ada Lake. A 24 to 36 inch protected slot limit was implemented in 2003 to increase the proportion of larger pike in the population. The average length of Northern Pike sampled in 2016 was 18 inches and lengths ranged from 10 to 37 inches. The proportion of Northern Pike 24 inches or longer increased steadily since 2004-2012 but decreased slightly in 2016. Largemouth Bass are typically smaller; lengths ranged from 4 to 15 inches and averaged 11 inches during this survey. Largemouth Bass longer than 18 inches long have been sampled in previous assessments. Ada Lake has been heavily stocked with varying combinations of Walleye fry, fingerlings, yearlings, and adults since 1971, yet abundance remains very low when compared to similar lakes. Average Walleye length was 19 inches and fish up to 24 inches were sampled in 2016. . Black Crappie sampled in 2016 averaged 9 inches and lengths ranged from 7 to 12 inches. Bluegill abundance was similar to other Class 27 lakes. Average length of Bluegill was 5 inches and fish up to about 10 inches were sampled. Yellow Perch numbers are also at very low levels, as only two Yellow Perch were sampled in 2016. Tullibee (Cisco) numbers rebounded from 2012. The abundance of Black Crappie appears to be slightly above average when compared to similar lakes. Other species available for anglers include bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, rock bass, yellow bullhead, and pumpkinseed sunfish. 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. Rusty crayfish and banded mystery snails are aquatic invasive species (AIS) currently 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 (www.dnr.state.mn.us) or by contacting the Walker Area Fisheries office.

Ada Lake is a 974-acre lake located east of Backus, Minnesota that has 7.21 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 60 ft. There is a state owned public access on the north shore. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) has classified Minnesota lakes into 43 different classes based on physical, chemical and other characteristics. Ada Lake is in Lake Class 27; lakes in this class are generally large, deep, regularly shaped lakes. This lake is primarily managed for northern pike, largemouth bass, and walleye, and secondarily for bluegill, black crappie, yellow perch, and cisco (tullibee). Northern pike are abundant in Ada Lake and a 24 to 36 inch protected slot limit was implemented in 2003 to increase the proportion of larger pike in the population. The average length of northern pike sampled in 2012 was 18 inches, and fish sampled ranged from 10 to 40 inches. The abundance of northern pike compared favorably to other lakes in this class. The proportion of northern pike 24 inches or longer has increased steadily since 2004. The largemouth bass population was the highest observed since the lake was first sampled in 1958. The longest bass sampled in 2012 was 14 inches long. Ada Lake has been heavily stocked with varying combinations of walleye fry, fingerlings and adults since 1971 yet walleye abundance is relatively low when compared to similar lakes. While walleye numbers are low, the average length was 18 inches and fish up to 27 inches were sampled in 2012. Yellow perch and cisco (tullibee) numbers are also at very low levels, as only seven yellow perch and one cisco were sampled in 2012. The abundance of black crappie appears to be slightly above average when compared to similar lakes. Black crappie sampled in 2012 averaged about 8 inches, with fish up to 12 inches being found. Bluegill abundance was similar to other Class 27 lakes. Average length of bluegill was about 6 inches and fish up to about 8 inches were sampled. Other species available for anglers include bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, rock bass, yellow bullhead, and pumpkinseed sunfish. 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 the only aquatic invasive species (AIS) that have been identified in Ada Lake are the rusty crayfish and the banded mystery snail. 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 (www.dnr.state.mn.us) or by contacting the Walker Area Fisheries office.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Walleye, Black Crappie, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, and Largemouth Bass in Ada. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Ada. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Ada has a maximum depth of 60 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Ada is from 2022.

No invasive species are on record for Ada in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.