Schoolcraft

Schoolcraft Lake is located three miles southwest of Lake George in northern Hubbard County. Schoolcraft has a surface area of 170 acres and a maximum depth of 37 feet. A state-owned public access is located on the north shore of the lake next to the outlet culvert. The access is very shallow and narrow with a cattail channel out to the lake. Generally, only smaller sized boats are able to use the access. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Schoolcraft is in lake class 34. Class 34 lakes generally have a very high percentage of littoral area (water depths less than 15 feet), hard and turbid water, with a very regularly shaped shoreline. Other area lakes in this same classification include Alice, Stocking, and Big Stony. Schoolcraft has an abundant Northern Pike population. Present and past surveys have shown Northern Pike abundance to fluctuate at very high numbers for this lake class. The Northern Pike population in Schoolcraft is known more for numbers than size, dominated by small, "hammer handle" Pike. Sampled Northern Pike had an average length and weight of 20.2 inches and 1.6 pounds with fish measured up to 29.5 inches. Anglers will find a low to moderate Walleye population in Schoolcraft. Walleye abundance was at the low end of the range typical for this lake class, similar to past surveys. Sampled Walleye ranged in length from 16.2 to 25.6 inches. In addition to providing a forage base for the Walleye population, anglers will find some Yellow Perch to be an acceptable size for angling. Yellow Perch abundance was below the range typical for this lake class. Yellow Perch abundance has fluctuated from low to high numbers in past surveys. Sampled Yellow Perch had an average length to 7.6 inches with fish measured up to 11.2 inches. Panfish abundance was up from past surveys with Black Crappie numbers above the range for this lake class and Bluegill numbers within the range for this lake class. Black Crappie and Bluegill abundance in past surveys have fluctuated from low to moderate numbers. Anglers will find Black Crappie in the 9 to 10 inch size range and Bluegill in the 6 to 8 inch size range. Largemouth Bass are present in Schoolcraft but are found in low numbers when compared to area lakes. Other species sampled included moderate numbers of Pumpkinseed, and low numbers of Rock Bass, Black Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, and White Sucker. Currently no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Schoolcraft. 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.

Schoolcraft Lake (29-0215-00) is a 170.43-acre lake with a maximum depth of 37 feet located near Lake George, MN. Park Rapids Fisheries staff conducted a survey targeting near shore fish species on July 28, 2022, to assess populations of non-game and small sport fish. Ten 100-foot sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake shore, sampling a variety of habitat types. Each site was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot 1/8th-inch mesh seine, depending on habitat conditions. During this assessment, four sites were sampled with a 15-foot seine. Site conditions prevented the use of seines at six sites. Backpack electrofishing was done at all 10 sites with one being conducted from the side of the boat. Nearshore sampling captured eight species of fish including species intolerant of disturbance; Banded Killifish. Other species sampled during the nearshore effort included Black Bullhead, Bluegill, Central Mudminnow, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, and Yellow Perch. Nearshore catches will be used along with gill net and trap net catch data from a standard fisheries survey conducted on August 15, 2022, to calculate a fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) score, which is indicative of the health of Schoolcraft Lake. This survey is contributing to a watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. Schoolcraft Lake is located in the Mississippi River - Headwaters Watershed.

Schoolcraft Lake is located three miles southwest of Lake George in Northern Hubbard County. Schoolcraft has a surface area of 170 acres and a maximum depth of 37 feet. A state owned public access is located on the north shore of the lake. The access is very shallow with a narrow channel out to the lake. Because of this, generally only smaller boats are able to use the access. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Schoolcraft is in lake class 34. Class 34 lakes generally have a very high percentage of littoral area (depths less than 15 feet), hard and turbid water, with very regularly shaped shoreline. Other class 34 lakes in the Park Rapids area include: Alice, Stocking and Big Stony. Northern Pike abundance has been above the range typical for this lake class in the past, and was again in 2015. The average length is small at 17 inches, with the largest fish 28.3 inches. Walleye abundance has been consistent in previous years, and comparable with similar lakes. Most Walleyes were a great size for anglers at 15-22 inches, with some smaller fish for the future. The average length was 17 inches, with the largest Walleye sampled at 23.5 inches. Yellow Perch are important forage for Walleyes and Northern Pike. Perch abundance was lower than past surveys and similar lakes. Perch were an acceptable size for anglers, with an average size of 8.6 inches and sampled up to 12.5 inches. Angling opportunities for panfish include Black Crappie, Bluegill and Pumpkinseed. Black Crappie abundance was lower than similar lakes and most past surveys. Most crappies were 9-10 inches. Bluegill and Pumpkinseed abundance was similar to other recent surveys at Schoolcraft Lake, but low compared to other similar lakes. Most sunfish were very small, but two were over 9 inches. Currently no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Schoolcraft. 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.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Black Crappie, Walleye, Bluegill, Hybrid Sunfish, and Rock Bass in Schoolcraft. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Schoolcraft has a maximum depth of 37 feet and a mean depth of 15 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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