East

East Lake is an undeveloped lake located about ten miles northwest of Schroeder within the Superior National Forest. It was previously managed for stream trout but stocking was discontinued in 2015 due to difficult access, low angler use, and poor survival of stocked fish. Management has subsequently changed to warm water species and adult Black Crappie and Bluegill were stocked into the lake in 2019 in an attempt to establish self-sustaining populations. The 2025 survey was the first standard fisheries survey completed to evaluate the success of panfish stocking efforts. The stocked Black Crappie have been able to naturally reproduce in the lake as five crappie from two unique year classes were captured. A targeted survey completed in 2022 also captured four crappie from a separate year class providing additional data to indicate successful natural reproduction has occurred in the lake. No evidence of successful Bluegill natural reproduction was found in either survey to date. Northern Pike were sampled for the first time in the eight fisheries surveys dating back to 1994. The catch included a small number of large fish that likely migrated into the lake during a recent high-water event as other waterbodies in the Cross River watershed support pike populations. It is unclear if there is adequate habitat for sustainable natural reproduction since the species was previously unable to maintain a population in the lake. The current fish community consists of a low density naturally reproducing population of Black Crappie based on recent survey data. A few large Northern Pike also inhabited the lake in 2025 although they were not a product of natural reproduction in the lake. Future surveys will continue to monitor the fish community to verify there is some type of fishery available for anglers that make the effort to reach this difficult to access lake.

East Lake is located nine miles northwest of Schroeder and has an area of 82 acres with a maximum depth of 18 feet. Public access is a carry in off a 0.8 mile trail that originates from USFS Rd #1849. The lake was previously managed for stream trout but was discontinued due to low return to anglers and presence of Yellow Perch and White Sucker. In 2019 about 1200 Black Crappie and 1100 Bluegill adults were stocked in an attempt to start a self-sustaining population of each species. The purpose of this survey was to evaluate the 2019 stocking and to look for evidence of natural reproduction. A small number of adult Bluegill were sampled ranging from 8.6-9.7 inches long, but no natural reproduction was documented. Conversely, Black Crappie reproduction was documented as four age-1 fish ranging from 3.2 to 3.8 inches long were sampled. These results suggest the lake has the proper habitat for some Black Crappie natural reproduction. But future surveys are required to determine if the lake can sustain a fishery for either Bluegill or Black Crappie.

East Lake is a fairly remote, undeveloped lake located within the USFS Superior National Forest. It is a designated trout lake and is stocked annually with brook trout. Its surface area is 82 acres with a maximum depth of 18.0 feet. Eighty percent of the lake is less than 15 feet. There are three access routes to East Lake; however, two are little used and are becoming difficult to locate. The preferred route is from Lake County Road #7, take U.S. Forest Service Road #1849 northeast 0.8 mile to old logging road, follow logging road 0.8 mile northwest and east to the lake. Portions of this route are suitable only for hiking or use of a small all-terrain vehicle (ATV). Much of the shoal-water substrate is hard bottom (boulder, rubble, gravel and sand) with some emergent vegetation. Whitestem and variableleaf pondweeds are the most common submerged aquatic plants in East Lake. The undeveloped shoreline is a mixed coniferous deciduous forest on a gradually sloped shore. Brook trout fingerlings are stocked annually in East Lake. The population assessment performed in the fall of 2012 found brook trout numbers below average compared to similar stocked brook trout lakes in the Finland area. The average weight of brook trout was 0.7 pound (12 inches). Brown trout numbers were low in 2012 with a total of five sampled in the population assessment. The low catch was not surprising since brown trout yearling stocking was discontinued after 2009 after it was determined that few anglers were targeting brown trout. The average weight was 1.8 pounds (16.8 inches). Several of the brown trout had young-of-the-year yellow perch in the stomach contents. All brown trout sampled were age-4, stocked as yearlings in 2008. Yellow perch were present in above average numbers. The average weight was about 0.1 pound (6.6 inches) for the yellow perch catch. Yellow perch are not a desirable species for stream trout lake management and no steps have been taken to enhance the yellow perch population. White sucker represented 89% of the total biomass sampled in the population assessment. The white sucker population was high, compared to other lakes in the lake class. The average weight of white suckers was 0.7 pound (11.8 inches). Large populations of small white suckers are not unusual when present in managed stream trout lakes, but competition for forage with suckers negatively impacts the ability to produce high quality stream trout populations when present. Creek chubs and common shiners were also collected in sampling gear.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Brown Trout, Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Brook Trout in East. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

East has a maximum depth of 18 feet and a mean depth of 6.9 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in East is from 2025.

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