Cross

Cross Lake is a 943-acre lake located on the east side of Pine City and is within the Snake River watershed. It has a maximum depth of 30 feet, has an average depth of 14 feet, and is 54% littoral (depths less than 15 feet, 507 acres). It's long-narrow shape, steep drop offs, and river connectivity make it a unique lake in the area. The Snake River is the one main inlet and outlet at the southern end of the lake that flows from west to east. Nine other small inlets are present, most of which only flow after precipitation events. No other outlets are present. The lake is highly developed, with homes lining almost 100% of the shoreline. Phosphorous levels are high, with algae blooms commonly occurring from May through October. Aquatic vegetation is dense nearshore but generally sparse in the main lake due to water clarity limiting plant growth to depths less than 5 feet. Sand and gravel are common throughout most of the lake which provides good spawning substrates for crappie and Bluegill. There are two public accesses on Cross Lake, one on the northern bank of the Snake River as it enters the lake and one on the northern bank of the Snake River as it exits the lake. The western access is paved and has 17 double spaces, while the eastern access is gravel and has roughly 24 double spaces. Past standard lake surveys on Cross Lake have occurred in late-June and consistently observed a low-density Bluegill population with some larger individuals over 9 inches present. Two previous surveys targeting spawning Bluegill occurred in 2019 and 2021, to evaluate if a special regulation was appropriate. Due to interest in quality size Bluegill and the results of these two surveys, a ten sunfish bag limit was initiated in 2022 to help maintain size quality. In 2025, a survey targeting spawning Bluegill was conducted using 12 trap nets set over 7 days (Figure 1, 80 net nights) to evaluate the current Bluegill population and examine for changes that may have occurred since special regulations were implemented. Initial sampling occurred May 19 - 22, 2025 when water temperatures were 62 °F degrees and warming, but a rapid drop in water temperatures to 52 °F limited Bluegill movement and net effectiveness. Consequently, additional sampling occurred June 9 - 12, 2025 just prior to Bluegill spawning as water temperatures warmed again (range 68-71 °F). A total of 314 Bluegill were caught in 2025 for a catch rate of 3.9/net. This is lower than the catch rate of 5.8/net in 2019 and 13.4/net in 2021; however, the duration sampled was longer in 2025 due to the cold front the first week. Bluegill lengths ranged from 3.3 to 10.0 inches with an average length of 7.4 inches. This is similar to the average lengths in 2019 and 2021, which were both 7.5 inches. Fifty percent of Bluegill caught in 2025 exceeded 8 inches, compared to 28% in 2019 and 47% in 2021. Overall, Cross appears to continue to support a low-density Bluegill population with good size structure. Other species sampled in 2025 included Black Crappie, White Crappie, and Pumpkinseed. A total of 264 black crappie were caught for a catch rate of 3.3/net. Lengths ranged from 7.1 to 14.4 inches with an average length of 9.9 inches. Forty-four percent of black crappie caught in 2025 exceeded 10 inches. Only Bluegills were counted and measured in the 2019 and 2021 surveys, so comparisons to other species cannot be made. In 2025, a total of 22 white crappie were caught for a catch rate of 0.3/net. Lengths ranged from 8.7 to 12.4 inches with an average length of 10.7 inches. A total of 16 pumpkinseed were caught for a catch rate of 0.2/net. Lengths ranged from 5.7 to 7.0 inches with an average of 6.3 inches.

Cross Lake is a fertile 943 acre lake in lake located near the town of Pine City, MN in southern Pine County. The lake is primarily managed for Walleye and Muskellunge. Approximately 500 pounds of Walleye fingerlings are stocked in odd-numbered years and 500 Muskellunge fingerlings are stocked annually. A survey consisting of 12 gill nets, 12 trap nets, and night electrofishing was conducted in June of 2022 to assess fish populations. The previous survey was conducted in 2018. Gillnet catch of Walleye was 1.4 per net, which is an increase from the previous survey. Walleye ranged from 7.8 to 21.4 inches in length in 2022 compared to 12.3 to 22.2 inches in length in 2018. Walleye averaged 13.8 inches in 2022 compared to 18.2 inches in 2018. Walleye lengths were good, with 41% of the catch over 12 inches. Gill net catch of Northern Pike was 3.1 fish per net. Pike ranged from 14.4 to 33.8 inches in length and averaged 22.1 inches in 2022. The percentage of fish over 26 inches in the total catch was 14% in 2022 compared to 44% in 2018. Average size of pike has increased from 21.9 inches in 2018 to 27.2 inches in 2022. Anglers can expect to catch good numbers of pike over 26 inches. Black Crappie were caught in gill nets at a rate of 10.2 fish per net which is twice as high as the previous survey. Black Crappie lengths ranged from 4.2 to 11.8 inches with 41% of the catch over 8 inches. There are also White Crappie present in Cross Lake. The size of the White Crappie sampled was quite large with the average weight being 0.8 lbs. which is substantially larger than similar lakes. The size of the White Crappie sampled were between 6.8 and 12.8 inches. The outlook for Black crappie fishing on Cross lake is good, with the chance to catch an occasional White Crappie. In the Spring of 2022, a special regulation was implemented on Cross Lake which decreased the bag limits from 20 to 10 sunfish in order to protect quality sized Bluegills. The 2022 Sunfish survey is part of an assessment to monitor the special regulation to determine if it is effective in maintaining current sunfish size structure on Cross Lake. We want to be proactive and protect the current size structure of sunfish on Cross Lake to provide anglers the opportunity to catch quality sized Sunfish for years to come. The 2022 survey captured a total of 53 sunfish. The sunfish trap net catch rate was 5.0 fish per net. Sunfish lengths ranged from 3.8 to 9.1 inches with 90% of the catch over 6 inches and 66% of the catch over 8 inches. The average length of sunfish was 8.0 inches. The Yellow Perch catch rate of 11.5 fish per gill net is slightly above average for this lake. The 2022 survey indicated that perch ranged from 3.4 to 9.5 inches in length and averaged 7.2 inches. Anglers can expect to catch good numbers of quality size perch, with 62% of the gillnet catch over 7 inches. The Largemouth Bass catch rate was 18.5 per hour, while not exceptional compared to some lakes, the catch rate was higher than the previous two surveys on Cross Lake. Largemouth Bass sizes ranged from 7.5 inches to 15.8 inches with an average length of 12.8 inches. Four Smallmouth Bass were captured during the survey, with lengths between 9.8 inches to 13.8 inches. Channel Catfish were sampled at a rate of 1.9 fish per gill net in 2022 compared to 2.2 fish per net in 2018. This is a slight decrease since the last survey but is about average relative to long term historical catch rates. Mean weight decreased slightly to 3.3 lbs. Average length was 20.1 inches with the longest sampled at 29.2 inches. There are good numbers of quality sized catfish available to anglers, with 90% of the gillnet catch over 17 inches. Lake Sturgeon were caught in gill nets at a rate of 3.3 fish per net which is significantly higher than previous surveys. Historical catch rates of Lake Sturgeon have been low in Cross Lake, but fish migrate from the Snake River into Cross Lake at different times of the year and can provide an exciting angling opportunity for anglers. Length averaged 20 inches with the largest fish being about 42.0 inches. Other species sampled during this survey were Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Chestnut Lamprey, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, Golden Shiner, Greater Redhorse, Lake Sturgeon, Rockbass, Shorthead Redhorse, Silver Redhorse, White Bass, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Bigmouth Buffalo, White Sucker.

Cross Lake is a fertile 943 acre lake located near the town of Pine City, MN in southern Pine County. It can be accessed by a public concrete boat ramp in the Snake River near the western shore of the lake, or by a ramp near the lake's outlet on the east shore. The lake is primarily managed for Walleye and Muskellunge. Around 500 pounds of Walleye fingerlings are stocked in odd-numbered years and 500 Muskellunge fingerlings are stocked annually. A survey consisting of 12 gill net and 12 trap net sets was conducted in June 2018 to assess fish populations. The previous survey was conducted in 2014. Muskellunge are not effectively sampled by these gear types and a separate survey is conducted periodically to assess their population. The Walleye gill net catch rate was 0.5 which is very low compared to similar lakes but typical for Cross Lake. Walleye averaged 18 inches with the largest fish sampled being 22 inches. Nearly as many fish were sampled in trap nets and were of similar sizes. Gill net catch of Northern Pike was 1.5 fish per net. This catch rate is more than double the previous survey but it has historically always been low compared to similar lakes. Average weight was large at 3.7 lbs. and average length was 25 inches with the largest fish measuring 35 inches. Black Crappie were caught in trap nets at a rate of 5.1 fish per net which is twice as high as the previous survey. Historical catch rates of Black Crappie have been pretty variable in Cross Lake but average weight has tended to be good and continues to be at 0.3 lbs. Length averaged 8 inches with the largest fish being about 10.5 inches. White Crappie also had an increased catch rate with 0.58 fish sampled per trap net. This is the highest catch since 2000 although it is lower than similar lakes. The size of the White Crappie sampled was quite large with the average weight being 0.54 lbs. which is substantially larger than similar lakes. All White Crappie in trap nets were between 9.3 and 11.1 inches in length. Trap nets sampled Bluegill at a rate of 8 fish per net which is quite low. It is lower than the previous survey but catch rates have historically been relatively low. Average weight was excellent at 0.32 lbs. Cross Lake has a history of a low density but large size Bluegill population. Fish averaged 7 inches in length and sizes were well distributed up to 9 inches. The Yellow Perch catch rate of 7.6 fish per gill net is low but typical relative to the last several surveys. Average weight of 0.20 lbs. had increased slightly and is large compared to similar lakes. Despite this there doesn't appear to be much draw for anglers with an average length of 7.6 inches and only 1 fish sampled over 9 inches. Channel Catfish were sampled at a rate of 2.2 fish per gill net. This is an increase over the last several surveys but is about average relative to long term historical catch rates. Average weight decreased slightly to 3.6 lbs. Average length was 20.5 inches with the majority of fish clustered around that size but several larger individuals reached up to 33 inches. Four smaller Lake Sturgeon averaging 24 inches were sampled in gill nets. Other species sampled were Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Chestnut Lamprey, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, Golden Shiner, Pumpkinseed, Shorthead Redhorse, Silver Redhorse, White Bass, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Black Crappie, Muskellunge, Channel Catfish, White Crappie, and Largemouth Bass in Cross. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Cross has a maximum depth of 30 feet and a mean depth of 14.3 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

Yes — Cross has confirmed Eurasian watermilfoil. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.