Cross River

Cross River Lake is in eastern Lake County approximately ten miles north of Schroeder. The lake supports fisheries for Black Crappie, Northern Pike, and Walleye. The public access is a short carry-in trail off US Forest Service Road 1226. The Cross River flows through the lake and connects it to other nearby waterbodies with game fish populations. The lake itself is small and shallow, covering just 78 acres and having a maximum depth of about seven feet. The bottom substrate is primarily muck and various species of emergent vegetation are common around the perimeter of the lake. Black Crappie numbers have slowly increased in Cross River Lake since first being sampled in 1995. Although recruitment had been sporadic in the past, the results of the 2023 survey indicate year classes have been produced more consistently in recent years. This may help to explain the record high Black Crappie catch of 5.1 fish per trap net. Lengths ranged from 4.5 to 13.5" long with 26% longer than 10". Northern Pike provide an additional opportunity for anglers. Most pike are of modest size, but a few fish do grow larger. Length of the 2023 catch averaged 20.3" with one fish over 40" sampled. Natural reproduction has consistently produced year classes of varying size in recent years, which indicates anglers should continue to have opportunities to catch pike into the foreseeable future. Walleye are also a part of the fish community that can be targeted by anglers. The lake does not have much spawning habitat, which limits the amount of natural reproduction and recruitment to the fishery. Still, enough spawning does occur in the lake and adjoining rivers to produce sporadic year classes frequently enough to sustain the population in the lake. White Sucker and Yellow Perch are important forage species but will be of little interest to anglers. There are opportunities to harvest suckers during their spring spawning run in the Cross River where it crosses Forest Service Road 1226 just upstream from the lake.

A targeted survey was completed the week of May 28th, 2019 to monitor the current Black Crappie population and gather baseline data for future management of the species. A total of 84 Black Crappie were sampled with the trap nets and these fish had an average length of 11.6 inches with 63% of the catch over 12 inches. Ten different year classes were identified and growth of fish was good. Reproduction and recruitment of Black Crappie appeared to be fairly consistent. These results indicate Cross River Lake currently supports a fishable Black Crappie population with decent growth and fairly consistent recruitment which is unique for the Finland area. Two Walleye were sampled during the netting and were 14.5 inches and 17.7 inches long. A total of 22 Northern Pike were caught during the survey and averaged 18 inches in length with one fish being over 32 inches. Yellow Perch, White Sucker, and Tadpole Madtom were also sampled with the survey gear.

Cross River Lake is 78 acres with a maximum depth listed of 7 feet; the Secchi disk was 4.5 feet in brown bog-stained water. The maximum depth was 8.5 feet in this assessment; the lake level was nearly two feet higher than in previous investigations. There was fresh beaver activity on the south end of the lake and a beaver dam on the outlet influencing the lake level. The carry-in access trail, off of U.S. Forest Service Road #1226, parallels the inlet for about 200 feet before meeting the inlet upstream of the lake; the trail is narrow and suitable for canoes or very small boats. A small number of walleye were collected in 2013, the average weight of the walleye sampled was 2.1 pounds; the largest walleye was 20.5 inches (3.4 pounds). Ageing the small sample of walleye indicates sporadic walleye reproduction or poor survival. Ageing from previous investigations also has shown inconsistent walleye reproduction with a strong year-class rarely occurring. Much of the lake shoreline substrate is muck and detritus and does not provide suitable walleye spawning habitat. Black crappies continue to maintain a fishable population in Cross River Lake through natural reproduction, since they were first sampled in the 1995 investigation. The 2013 population assessment found black crappie at above average numbers, when compared to lakes with similar characteristics. The average length of the black crappie sampled was 9.3 inches, the largest was 12.8 inches. The movement of black crappie in the Cross River system has extended upstream from Cross River Lake through South Wigwam Lake and into Finger Lake; first found in South Wigwam Lake in 2009 and Finger Lake in 2011. The northern pike numbers in Cross River Lake were about average for this type of lake. The average weight of the northern pike was 1.8 pounds in 2013; the largest was about 27 inches (4 pounds). Northern pike numbers have remained fairly constant in Cross River Lake; the average weight has typically been less than 2 pounds. Northern pike reproduction appears to be sufficient to maintain a fishable population in this lightly fished lake. Yellow perch were found in average numbers in 2013 and numbers similar to previous investigations on Cross River Lake. The average weight of the catch in 2013 was less than 0.2 pound, within the range seen in previous yellow perch samples. About 28% of total yellow perch catch was greater than 8 inches the largest 9.4 inches. The white sucker catch in 2013 was below the range seen in previous investigations on Cross River Lake. Historically the white sucker numbers have been above average for this type of lake, with fish averaging about 2 pounds. The culvert crossing U.S. Forest Service Road #1226 provides an opportunity for spring harvest of white suckers in the inlet (Cross River) to Cross River Lake during the spawning run, during the open season.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Black Crappie, Walleye, Northern Pike, and Yellow Perch in Cross River. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Cross River has a maximum depth of 7 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Cross River is from 2023.

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