Madden

Madden Lake is a 34-acre lake located 11 miles east of Ely. The main access is via the Madden Lake Trail, which runs 0.8 miles south off the Fernberg Road to the north side of the lake. The road is extremely rough so a 4-wheel drive vehicle with high clearance, ATV/UTV, or hiking are the only reasonable forms of transportation. A trailer is not recommended. Madden Lake can also be accessed via a 0.6-mile portage from Greenstone Lake into the south end of Madden. The lake has a maximum depth of 24 feet and brown-green water. There is one private parcel on the east shore of the lake, but much of the shoreline is publicly owned, forested, and rocky. Madden Lake was thermally stratified on July 5, 2023, with a surface temperature of 74 F and a bottom temperature of 43 F. Adequate oxygen for most fish was retained to a depth of at least 12 feet where the temperature was 53 F. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline consist of mostly ledge rock with areas of rubble, sand, and muck. Aquatic vegetation is confined mostly to the northeast and southeast bays and grows to a maximum depth of 7 feet. The 2023 survey of Madden Lake was a targeted survey using three gill nets to evaluate the success of walleye fry stockings that began in 2013 after no stockings took place from 1994-2013. Since 2013, walleye fry have been stocked almost annually, with the only missed years in 2016 and 2020. The walleye catch rate was 3.0 fish/net, which was double the catch rate of the only other survey since walleye fry stocking resumed (1.5 fish/net in 2017). Walleye lengths ranged from 17.0 to 24.9 inches and averaged 20.3 inches. Ages of walleye ranged from 3 to 8 years, and half of the walleye came from non-stocked year classes, indicating that some amount of natural reproduction is occurring in the lake. Northern pike were sampled at a rate of 8.3 fish/net, which was relatively high compared to previous surveys on Madden Lake and other similar lakes in the Tower area. Pike ranged in size from 18.9 to 29.3 inches. The average length of pike sampled was 23.3 inches, which is also slightly higher than the historical average for the lake. White sucker and yellow perch were also sampled in gill nets. White sucker were sampled at a rate of 10.3 fish/net, and yellow perch had a catch rate of 0.3 fish/net. These species both likely serve as important prey for the walleye and northern pike populations in Madden Lake.

Madden Lake is a 34 acre lake located 11 miles east of Ely. The main access is a 0.8 mile road (Madden Lake Trail), south off the Fernberg Road, that comes into the north side of the lake. The road is extremely rough so a 4-wheel drive truck, ATV, or hiking are the only reasonable forms of transportation. A trailer is not recommended. The other access is a 0.6 mile portage from Greenstone Lake, coming to the south side of Madden. The lake has a maximum depth of 24 feet and green water. Most of the shoreline is publicly owned. The only private parcel is on the east shore and most of the shoreline is forested and rocky. Madden Lake was thermally stratified on July 10, 2017 with a surface temperature of 73 F and a bottom temperature of 45 F. Adequate oxygen for most fish was retained to a depth of 17 feet where the temperature was 50 F. There is one major inlet from Wedge Lake and the outlet eventually goes to Sourdough Lake. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline consist of mostly ledge rock with areas of rubble, sand, and muck. Aquatic vegetation is confined mostly to the northeast and southeast bays and grows to a maximum depth of 7 feet. Madden Lake was stocked with walleye fry in 2013 for the first time since 1994. Walleye were reintroduced with three stockings events from 2013 to 2015 and will be stocked with walleye fry on an every other year schedule starting in 2017. The lake has a history of winterkill and the success of these stockings will be evaluated over the next few surveys. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 12.5 fish/net which was slightly below average compared to other similar lakes. Fish species sampled were white sucker, northern pike, yellow perch, and walleye. The overall trap net catch rate was 3.7 fish/net which was around average for the lake. In addition to the species sampled in gill nets, a green sunfish was also sampled in trap nets. The walleye gillnet catch rate was 1.5 fish/net and the trapnet catch rate was 1.1 fish/net. Trapnet catches are normally not used to assess walleye populations, although on Madden Lake and several other similar area lakes, trap nets can sample walleye populations quite well. Lengths ranged from 14 to 16 inches with an average of 15 inches and an average weight of a little over one pound. All fish were two years old and from the 2015 stocked year class. Compared to other lakes in the area, growth was extremely fast. The pike population is somewhat small but has not changed much through the years. The 2017 gillnet catch was 3.5 fish/net which was slightly below average compared to past surveys on the lake. The trapnet catch was 1.9 fish/net which was better than average compared to past catches. Lengths ranged from 10 to 27 inches with an average of 19 inches. Overall sizes were quite similar to past catches. White sucker and yellow perch were also sampled in gill nets. Both catch rates were similar to past surveys. The only other species sampled was a green sunfish. Some of the walleye and northern pike had neascus (black spot) infestations.

Madden Lake is located approximately 12 miles northeast of Ely. It has a surface area of 37 acres and a maximum depth of 24 feet. Access is by a 0.8 mile primitive road from CR 18 or a 0.6 mile portage from Greenstone Lake. Most of the surrounding land is State of Minnesota School Trust Land. There is an inlet from Wedge Lake and two small inlets from local drainages. The outlet is to Sourdough Lake. Rocky falls and beaver dams limit fish movement in the inlets and the outlet. Madden Lake has a history of periodic winterkill from low dissolved oxygen. Shoal water substrates in Madden Lake are 34% boulder, 20% muck, 15% ledge, 14% gravel, 10% rubble, and 7% sand. Aquatic plants are sparse and grow to a depth of 6 ft; white and yellow waterlilies are the most common plants. Northern pike numbers in 2012 (2.5/ gill net) were below the long term average for all assessments on this lake. The average pike sampled was 26.4 inches long and about six years old. The largest pike sampled was 29.3 inches. Yellow perch, green sunfish and white sucker were also sampled in relatively low numbers. Perch sizes averaged 7.3 inches and the largest perch sampled was 9.5 inches.

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

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

Madden has a maximum depth of 24 feet and a mean depth of 12 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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