Dago

Dago is a 107-acre moderately fertile lake located within the General C. C. Andrews State Forest in northern Pine County. The Dago Lake Day Use Area contains a public boat access with a large parking lot, picnic tables, and several trails. The lakes clear water and sandy shores are popular with swimmers, though no public beach is designated. Dago Lake was used by the Hinckley Area Fisheries office to rear walleye fingerlings (1977-1985, 1989-1992) with varying success. High water levels from the mid 1980's to the early 1990's allowed fish migration from Sturgeon Lake. The 1986 assessment found the lake 7 feet above the current level. The establishment of game fish populations and the lack of winter kill have now limited the lakes use as walleye rearing pond. The up side is angling opportunities are now present in the Day Use Area . Northern pike were near the 75th percentile in both number and size when compared to similar lakes. The eleven northerns present in the gill net ranged from 14.9 to 31.5 inches and averaged 20.5 inches and 2.6 pounds. Black crappie and bluegill were also present in normal abundance. Trap netted crappie ranged from 4.3 to 9.7 inches with an average of 6.6 while bluegill ranged from 3.1 to 8.1 with a 5.6 inch average. Crappie and bluegill both averaged 0.16 pounds, which just fell in the normal range for bluegill but below the 25th percentile for black crappie. Largemouth bass were moderately abundant, with a catch rate of 34 per hour of electrofishing. Bass were quality sized ranging from 10 to 19.3 inches with an average of 13.1 inches and 1.4 pounds. The proportions of the bass catch exceeding 12 and 16 inches were 70% and 20% respectively. Species present in lower abundance included black bullhead, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, walleye, and yellow perch.

Based on their respective local medians the present fish population of Dago Lake is as follows. The walleye was slightly high at 6.00 per gillnet set with a median length of 12.0-12.9 inches and a mean weight of 0.82 pounds. The northern pike was above the local median at 5.00 per set with an average length of 17.0-17.9 inches and a mean weight of 1.3 pounds. The yellow perch and the bluegill sunfish showed extremely low populations at 0.66 and 1.00 per set respectively in their associated netting gear. The white sucker was present only in the trapnet catch at 1.00 per set. The black bullhead was slightly low in the trap net at 14.00 per set but was high in the gillnet catch at 46.00. Length frequency ranged from 4.5 to 10.9 inches with a median length of 8.0-8.4 inches.

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

We don't have a confirmed public access point on record for Dago. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Dago has a maximum depth of 20 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Dago is from 2006. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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