Best Ice Fishing Lakes in Minnesota, Walleye + Crappie + Pike, LakeQuality

Ice-fishing rankings weight winter-target species presence (walleye, perch, tullibee, lake trout) and accessibility on the ice. Spider (Ne Lake (A) leads the Minnesota list.

Ice-fishing rankings also favor lakes with reliable winter access — a published winter-road, plowed parking, or shoreline owned by a resort or DNR access point.

Rank	Lake	County	State	Grade	Clarity	Area	Depth
1	Spider (Ne Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	17.1 ft	570 acres	96 ft
2	Little Sand Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	20 ft	410 acres	80 ft
3	Moon Lake	Douglas	MN	A	21 ft	139 acres	38 ft
4	Kabekona Bay Lake	Cass	MN	A	17.2 ft	103,444 acres	150 ft
5	Cass Lake Allens Bay	Beltrami	MN	A	16.6 ft	15,958 acres	120 ft
6	Cass Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	18.5 ft	15,958 acres	120 ft
7	Gull Lake	Cass	MN	A	15 ft	10,010 acres	80 ft
8	Burntside Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	16 ft	7,314 acres	126 ft
9	Pokegama Lake	Itasca	MN	A	16.1 ft	6,721 acres	112 ft
10	Pokegama Lake	Itasca	MN	A	17.5 ft	6,721 acres	112 ft
11	North Long Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	15.1 ft	6,190 acres	97 ft
12	Miltona Lake	Douglas	MN	A	18.7 ft	5,731 acres	105 ft
13	West Battle Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	18 ft	5,615 acres	108 ft
14	Ten Mile Lake	Cass	MN	A	20.5 ft	5,080 acres	208 ft
15	Star Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	17 ft	4,486 acres	94 ft
16	Ida Lake	Douglas	MN	A	16.4 ft	4,445 acres	106 ft
17	Ball Club Lake	Itasca	MN	A	16 ft	4,335 acres	85 ft
18	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	16.4 ft	3,962 acres	55 ft
19	Big Cormorant Lake	Becker	MN	A	24.8 ft	3,657 acres	75 ft
20	Alexander Lake	Morrison	MN	A	16.5 ft	2,709 acres	64 ft
21	Edward Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	15.5 ft	2,628 acres	75 ft
22	Carlos Lake	Douglas	MN	A	18 ft	2,605 acres	163 ft
23	Bay Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	18.5 ft	2,330 acres	74 ft
24	Wabana Lake	Itasca	MN	A	18 ft	2,221 acres	115 ft
25	White Earth Lake	Becker	MN	A	15 ft	1,989 acres	120 ft
26	Lizzie Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	16.4 ft	1,913 acres	66 ft
27	Trout Lake	Itasca	MN	A	16 ft	1,862 acres	135 ft
28	Sturgeon Lake	Pine	MN	A	17 ft	1,706 acres	40 ft
29	Sturgeon Lake	Pine	MN	A	16.8 ft	1,706 acres	40 ft
30	Big Sand Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	23 ft	1,639 acres	135 ft
31	Pine Mountain Lake	Cass	MN	A	17.5 ft	1,617 acres	80 ft
32	Andrusia Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	15.1 ft	1,596 acres	60 ft
33	Strawberry Lake	Becker	MN	A	17.5 ft	1,498 acres	40 ft
34	Belle Taine Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	22.8 ft	1,497 acres	56 ft
35	Big Trout Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	16.9 ft	1,366 acres	128 ft
36	Unnamed Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	15.1 ft	1,357 acres	95 ft
37	Thunder Lake	Cass	MN	A	16.5 ft	1,347 acres	95 ft
38	Thunder Lake	Cass	MN	A	20 ft	1,347 acres	95 ft
39	Little Mcdonald Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	26.5 ft	1,316 acres	109 ft
40	Hubert Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	17.1 ft	1,301 acres	83 ft
41	Siseebakwet Lake	Itasca	MN	A	19 ft	1,210 acres	105 ft
42	Rose Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	16 ft	1,200 acres	137 ft
43	Island Lake	Becker	MN	A	15 ft	1,179 acres	38 ft
44	Serpent Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	25 ft	1,116 acres	65 ft
45	Pleasant Lake	Cass	MN	A	15.5 ft	1,099 acres	72 ft
46	Sugar Lake	Wright	MN	A	16.5 ft	1,014 acres	69 ft
47	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	21.5 ft	1,007 acres	115 ft
48	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	21.5 ft	1,007 acres	115 ft
49	Big Mcdonald Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	17.4 ft	992 acres	46 ft
50	Crooked Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	15 ft	905 acres	54 ft

Combined list →Wisconsin version →All Minnesota lakes →

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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.