Black Crappie Lakes in Minnesota

Found in 1,386 Minnesota lakes · 41 in North Dakota

Black Crappie is panfish — the family of smaller, abundant species that anchor kid-friendly fishing and ice-fishing in Minnesota. Documented in 41 lakes across our dataset. Black Crappie is narrowly distributed — only 41 lakes in North Dakota have a documented record. The constraint is usually habitat: cold water, specific depth profile, or river connection.

Panfish species like Black Crappie tolerate a wide range of water quality, so their presence in a lake says less about the lake than the absence of a game-fish would. Cross-reference the Black Crappie lake list below against the LakeGrade rubric: lakes with both an A or B grade and Black Crappie documented are the best places to start for recreational targeting.

1,386

Minnesota Lakes

Avg. Grade

425

Grade A Lakes

Counties

Best Black Crappie Lakes in Minnesota

Rank	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Depth
1	East Fox Lake	Crow Wing	A	16.4 ft	65 ft
2	North Long Lake	Crow Wing	A	15.1 ft	97 ft
3	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	A	25 ft	84 ft
4	Big Sugar Bush Lake	Becker	A	16.5 ft	42 ft
5	Horseshoe Lake	Cass	A	21 ft	51 ft
6	Long Lake	Cass	A	21.5 ft	115 ft
7	Long Lake	Clearwater	A	20.5 ft	80 ft
8	Long Lake	Beltrami	A	20 ft	87 ft
9	Long Lake	Becker	A	19.3 ft	61 ft
10	Long Lake	Cass	A	17 ft	37 ft
11	Long Lake	Itasca	A	16.7 ft	72 ft
12	Long Lake	Itasca	A	16.9 ft	85 ft
13	Dead Lake	Hubbard	A	16 ft	34 ft
14	Otter Lake	Otter Tail	A	18 ft	64 ft
15	Ossawinnamakee Lake	Crow Wing	A	20 ft	63 ft
16	Clear Lake	Crow Wing	A	18 ft	63 ft
17	Clear Lake	Aitkin	A	15 ft	24 ft
18	Clear Lake	Itasca	A	14.9 ft	30 ft
19	West Fox Lake	Crow Wing	A	15 ft	55 ft
20	Spearhead Lake	Hubbard	A	15 ft	81 ft
21	Ida Lake	Douglas	A	16.4 ft	106 ft
22	Star Lake	Crow Wing	A	19 ft	83 ft
23	Star Lake	Otter Tail	A	17 ft	94 ft
24	Upper Maple Lake	Wright	A	17.2 ft	76 ft
25	Fish Lake	Otter Tail	A	18 ft	69 ft
26	Birch Lake	Wright	A	15 ft	52 ft
27	Girl Lake	Cass	A	17.6 ft	81 ft
28	Little Toad Lake	Becker	A	15 ft	65 ft
29	Charlotte Lake	Wright	A	17.1 ft	46 ft
30	Bass Lake	Crow Wing	A	16.1 ft	47 ft
31	Bass Lake	Cass	A	-	55 ft
32	Crooked Lake	Stearns	A	15.5 ft	35 ft
33	Crooked Lake	Crow Wing	A	15 ft	54 ft
34	Cedar Lake	Morrison	A	16.2 ft	88 ft
35	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	A	16.4 ft	55 ft
36	Lower Bottle Lake	Hubbard	A	15 ft	110 ft
37	Big Pine Lake	Aitkin	A	17 ft	78 ft
38	Strawberry Lake	Becker	A	17.5 ft	40 ft
39	Alexander Lake	Morrison	A	16.5 ft	64 ft
40	Mcavity Lake	Itasca	A	17.3 ft	29 ft
41	Gull Lake	Cass	A	15 ft	80 ft
42	Deep Portage Lake	Cass	A	15.4 ft	105 ft
43	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	A	18.5 ft	100 ft
44	Latoka Lake	Douglas	A	19 ft	108 ft
45	Pike Lake	St. Louis	A	18 ft	60 ft
46	Unnamed Lake	Otter Tail	A	15.1 ft	95 ft
47	Maple Lake	Itasca	A	15.3 ft	39 ft
48	Shallow Lake	Itasca	A	16.4 ft	85 ft
49	Trout Lake	Itasca	A	16 ft	135 ft
50	Cowdry Lake	Douglas	A	17.1 ft	52 ft

Showing top 50 of 1,386 lakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Minnesota lakes have black crappie?

Black Crappie are found in 1,386 lakes in Minnesota. The average water quality grade of these lakes is C (Fair).

What are the best black crappie lakes in Minnesota?

The best black crappie lakes in Minnesota by water quality are East Fox Lake, North Long Lake, Bad Medicine Lake, Big Sugar Bush Lake, Horseshoe Lake.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.