Bluegill Lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan

PanfishFound in 240 lakes

Bluegill is panfish — the family of smaller, abundant species that anchor kid-friendly fishing and ice-fishing in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Documented in 240 lakes across our dataset. Bluegill is moderately distributed — 178 lakes in Michigan and 62 in North Dakota. Some counties have it, others do not, so checking the per-lake pages matters.

Panfish species like Bluegill 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 Bluegill lake list below against the LakeGrade rubric: lakes with both an A or B grade and Bluegill documented are the best places to start for recreational targeting.

240

Total Lakes

178

Michigan lakes →

North Dakota lakes →

Avg. Grade

43 ft

Avg. Depth

Water Quality of Bluegill Lakes

504

30%

420

25%

360

21%

251

15%

144

Best Bluegill Lakes by Water Quality

Top 50 lakes with bluegill ranked by overall water quality grade.

Rank	Lake	County	State	Grade	Depth	Species
1	East Fox Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	65 ft	15
2	North Long Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	97 ft	18
3	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	MN	A	84 ft	13
4	Big Sugar Bush Lake	Becker	MN	A	42 ft	13
5	Horseshoe Lake	Cass	MN	A	51 ft	12
6	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	115 ft	14
7	Long Lake	Clearwater	MN	A	80 ft	15
8	Long Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	87 ft	11
9	Long Lake	Becker	MN	A	61 ft	16
10	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	37 ft	12
11	Long Lake	Itasca	MN	A	72 ft	10
12	Long Lake	Itasca	MN	A	85 ft	12
13	Dead Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	34 ft	9
14	Otter Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	64 ft	7
15	Ossawinnamakee Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	63 ft	18
16	Clear Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	63 ft	15
17	Clear Lake	Aitkin	MN	A	24 ft	14
18	Clear Lake	Itasca	MN	A	30 ft	9
19	Eagle Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	46 ft	10
20	West Fox Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	55 ft	15
21	Spearhead Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	81 ft	17
22	Ida Lake	Douglas	MN	A	106 ft	19
23	Star Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	83 ft	12
24	Star Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	94 ft	17
25	Upper Maple Lake	Wright	MN	A	76 ft	15
26	Fish Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	69 ft	17
27	Birch Lake	Wright	MN	A	52 ft	9
28	Birch Lake	Unknown	MN	A	34 ft	10
29	Girl Lake	Cass	MN	A	81 ft	18
30	Little Toad Lake	Becker	MN	A	65 ft	15
31	Charlotte Lake	Wright	MN	A	46 ft	10
32	Bass Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	47 ft	14
33	Bass Lake	Itasca	MN	A	65 ft	7
34	Bass Lake	Cass	MN	A	55 ft	12
35	Crooked Lake	Stearns	MN	A	35 ft	10
36	Crooked Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	54 ft	16
37	Cedar Lake	Morrison	MN	A	88 ft	14
38	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	55 ft	20
39	Square Lake	Washington	MN	A	68 ft	9
40	Lower Bottle Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	110 ft	13
41	Big Pine Lake	Aitkin	MN	A	78 ft	15
42	Strawberry Lake	Becker	MN	A	40 ft	16
43	Alexander Lake	Morrison	MN	A	64 ft	19
44	Mcavity Lake	Itasca	MN	A	29 ft	9
45	Gull Lake	Cass	MN	A	80 ft	22
46	Deep Portage Lake	Cass	MN	A	105 ft	9
47	Little Wabana Lake	Itasca	MN	A	57 ft	6
48	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	100 ft	21
49	Latoka Lake	Douglas	MN	A	108 ft	16
50	Pike Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	60 ft	9

Showing top 50 of 1,679 lakes with bluegill.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many lakes have bluegill?

Bluegill are found in 240 graded lakes: 178 in Michigan, 62 in North Dakota. The average water quality grade of lakes with bluegill is C (Fair).

What are the best lakes for bluegill?

The best bluegill lakes by water quality are East Fox Lake, North Long Lake, Bad Medicine Lake, Big Sugar Bush Lake, Horseshoe Lake. These lakes have the highest water quality grades among all lakes where bluegill have been documented by state DNR surveys.

What other fish are found with bluegill?

Bluegill are most commonly found alongside bluegill, northern pike, black crappie, yellow perch, largemouth bass. These species share similar habitat preferences in the region's lakes.

Other Fish Species in Bluegill Lakes

Northern pike Lakes

Found together in 1,359 lakes · 99 total

Black Crappie Lakes

Found together in 1,335 lakes · 41 total

Yellow Perch Lakes

Found together in 1,320 lakes · 113 total

Largemouth bass Lakes

Found together in 1,271 lakes · 172 total

Pumpkinseed Lakes

Found together in 1,204 lakes · 145 total

Walleye Lakes

Found together in 1,163 lakes · 840 total

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.