Bluegill Lakes in Minnesota

Found in 1,439 Minnesota lakes · 178 in Michigan · 62 in North Dakota

Bluegill is panfish — the family of smaller, abundant species that anchor kid-friendly fishing and ice-fishing in Minnesota. 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.

1,439

Minnesota Lakes

Avg. Grade

449

Grade A Lakes

Counties

Best Bluegill 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	Eagle Lake	Otter Tail	A	22.6 ft	46 ft
20	West Fox Lake	Crow Wing	A	15 ft	55 ft
21	Spearhead Lake	Hubbard	A	15 ft	81 ft
22	Ida Lake	Douglas	A	16.4 ft	106 ft
23	Star Lake	Crow Wing	A	19 ft	83 ft
24	Star Lake	Otter Tail	A	17 ft	94 ft
25	Upper Maple Lake	Wright	A	17.2 ft	76 ft
26	Fish Lake	Otter Tail	A	18 ft	69 ft
27	Birch Lake	Wright	A	15 ft	52 ft
28	Birch Lake	Unknown	A	15 ft	34 ft
29	Girl Lake	Cass	A	17.6 ft	81 ft
30	Little Toad Lake	Becker	A	15 ft	65 ft
31	Charlotte Lake	Wright	A	17.1 ft	46 ft
32	Bass Lake	Crow Wing	A	16.1 ft	47 ft
33	Bass Lake	Itasca	A	18.2 ft	65 ft
34	Bass Lake	Cass	A	-	55 ft
35	Crooked Lake	Stearns	A	15.5 ft	35 ft
36	Crooked Lake	Crow Wing	A	15 ft	54 ft
37	Cedar Lake	Morrison	A	16.2 ft	88 ft
38	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	A	16.4 ft	55 ft
39	Square Lake	Washington	A	17 ft	68 ft
40	Lower Bottle Lake	Hubbard	A	15 ft	110 ft
41	Big Pine Lake	Aitkin	A	17 ft	78 ft
42	Strawberry Lake	Becker	A	17.5 ft	40 ft
43	Alexander Lake	Morrison	A	16.5 ft	64 ft
44	Mcavity Lake	Itasca	A	17.3 ft	29 ft
45	Gull Lake	Cass	A	15 ft	80 ft
46	Deep Portage Lake	Cass	A	15.4 ft	105 ft
47	Little Wabana Lake	Itasca	A	24 ft	57 ft
48	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	A	18.5 ft	100 ft
49	Latoka Lake	Douglas	A	19 ft	108 ft
50	Pike Lake	St. Louis	A	18 ft	60 ft

Showing top 50 of 1,439 lakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Minnesota lakes have bluegill?

Bluegill are found in 1,439 lakes in Minnesota. The average water quality grade of these lakes is C (Fair).

What are the best bluegill lakes in Minnesota?

The best bluegill 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.