Moose

Moose Lake is located in St Louis county approximately 9.5 miles west-northwest of the community of Crane Lake, Minnesota. Access to this remote lake is fairly difficult, including approximately 4 miles of ATV trail off of US Forest Rd 493, passing nearby Long Lake along the way. Moose is a shallow 228 acre lake with abundant vegetation and a maximum depth of just 8 feet. A standard fisheries survey was completed in Moose in July of 2019. Moose Lake has a high quality Bluegill population. Bluegill are abundant, and the size structure is impressive. The average size from the 2019 sample was 7.5 inches, and fish up to 11 inches were measured. Aging revealed Bluegill up to 10 years old were present in the system. Small lakes can be particularly vulnerable to overharvest of large, old Bluegills. Selective harvest of smaller Bluegill is encouraged to conserve the high quality size structure in this lake. Northern Pike are abundant and typically small in Moose Lake. An average Pike from the 2019 survey measured 18 inches, and the largest measured just over 25 inches. Most Northern Pike in Moose Lake were young, with the majority of the sample being two to three years old. Significantly larger individuals have been sampled in past surveys, and as these two strong year classes age there may be some larger fish in the future. Smallmouth Bass were sampled for the first time in Moose Lake during this survey. Two Smallmouth were caught in standard gill nets. Future surveys will track the expansion of this species and possible effects on other fish in Moose Lake. Yellow Perch are quite abundant in Moose Lake. Perch are also larger than expected for this type of lake, and reach sizes that should be of interest to most anglers. Perch averaged 8.6 inches and some over 12 inches were in the sample. A Walleye stocking regimen has been in place for Moose Lake since 2014. Moose had a naturally reproducing population, but catches in past surveys have been fairly low. Stocking does not appear to have increased the Walleye population as few Walleye were caught in the 2019 survey. However, the Moose Lake Walleye are fairly large in size, with an average length of over 20 inches. Other fish sampled during the 2019 survey included Bullhead, Golden Shiner, Pumpkinseed, and White Sucker.

Moose lake is one of three Moose lakes located within the International Falls Fisheries Management Area. This Moose lake is located approximately 9.5 miles west of its closest town, Crane Lake. Moose Lake is 209 acres with a max depth of 6.5 feet. Access is by a private trail running along the west edge of the lake. Bluegill gill-net abundance was 9.8 fish/set. Average weight was 0.46 pounds and ages ranged from 1-7 years. Total lengths ranged from 3.5 to 10.3 inches with an average of 7.6 inches. Growth rates are very good for bluegill in this lake when compared to the area average growth rate. Northern pike gill-net abundance was 15.3/set which is nearly twice the catch rate of 75% of other lakes, in the same lake class. However, sizes are not that outstanding compared to what might be expected from lakes of this class. Total lengths ranged from 9.7 to 35.3 inches with an average of 18.9 inches. Average weight was low at 1.6 pounds indicating below average growth. Walleye relative abundance was the lowest recorded on this lake. Catch rates were 1.2 fish/set as compared to 1.8/set in 1994 and 5.6/set in 1970, however average weights have steadily gone up, 1.8 lbs in 1970, 2.4 lbs in 1994, and 3.0 lbs currently. Total lengths ranged from 19.0 to 24.5 inches with an average of 20.8 inches. Growth is very near the average for what we would expect in a lake of this class. Five year-classes were represented in the sample with ages ranging from 5 to 15 years, however no small or young fish were sampled. White suckers were sampled at 2.0 fish/set. This is quite low in relative abundance when compared to the 1994 survey (8.5/set) but similar to the 1970 survey (1.1/set). An average weight of 2.8 pounds puts the size of white suckers from this lake class well above 75% of the other lakes in its class. Lengths ranged from 7.8 to 23.0 with an average of 18.4 inches. Yellow perch gill-net abundance was 46.3/set, more than twice the value of 75% of the lakes within the same class. Total lengths ranged from 5.4 to 12.7 with an average of 9.3 inches. Growth rates are very good for perch compared to lakes in the area. Average weight is 0.44 pounds which is also higher than 75% of the lakes within the same class. Eleven year-classes were sampled with a good distribution of ages; however the 2005 year class shows good strength making up nearly 20% of the total catch. Pumpkinseed was the only other species sampled but only 3 fish were caught and were all small. Lengths ranged from 3.4 to 3.6 inches with a mean weight of 0.04 pounds/fish.

There is a high density population of small to medium sized northern pike in Moose Lake. Over twice the lake class average number was sampled. Average size sampled was 18.9 inches, and 1.5 pounds. The largest northern pike sampled was 29.8 inches. Growth rate was average, and recruitment appeared consistent. Walleye were present in low numbers, but were of good size. Average size was 19.2 inches and 2.4 pounds. Walleye age 4-8 were sampled, but 36 percent were 4 years old. Growth rate was similar to that in other Minnesota Lakes. Yellow perch numbers were over twice the normal for lakes of this type. Average length sampled was 8.2 inches, and the largest perch sampled was 14.0 inches. Growth rate was average. White suckers were also sampled at average density.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Yellow Perch, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, and Northern Pike in Moose. 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 Moose. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Moose has a maximum depth of 8 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Moose is from 2019.

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