Brown Bullhead Lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan

Catfish & BullheadFound in 4 lakes

Brown Bullhead fits the catfish niche: tolerant of warm, turbid water, often present in productive (eutrophic) lakes. 4 lakes in our dataset have a record. Brown Bullhead is narrowly distributed — only 4 lakes in North Dakota have a documented record. The constraint is usually habitat: cold water, specific depth profile, or river connection.

Catfish-bearing lakes are often productive systems — the kind where the fish do well even when clarity does not. Cross-reference the Brown Bullhead lake list below against the LakeGrade rubric: lakes with both an A or B grade and Brown Bullhead documented are the best places to start for recreational targeting.

Total Lakes

North Dakota lakes →

Avg. Grade

46 ft

Avg. Depth

Water Quality of Brown Bullhead Lakes

316

35%

247

28%

169

19%

116

13%

Best Brown Bullhead Lakes by Water Quality

Top 50 lakes with brown bullhead 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	Big Sugar Bush Lake	Becker	MN	A	42 ft	13
4	Horseshoe Lake	Cass	MN	A	51 ft	12
5	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	115 ft	14
6	Long Lake	Clearwater	MN	A	80 ft	15
7	Long Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	87 ft	11
8	Long Lake	Becker	MN	A	61 ft	16
9	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	37 ft	12
10	Long Lake	Itasca	MN	A	85 ft	12
11	Dead Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	34 ft	9
12	Ossawinnamakee Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	63 ft	18
13	Clear Lake	Aitkin	MN	A	24 ft	14
14	Clear Lake	Itasca	MN	A	30 ft	9
15	West Fox Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	55 ft	15
16	Spearhead Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	81 ft	17
17	Ida Lake	Douglas	MN	A	106 ft	19
18	Star Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	94 ft	17
19	Upper Maple Lake	Wright	MN	A	76 ft	15
20	Fish Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	69 ft	17
21	Birch Lake	Wright	MN	A	52 ft	9
22	Girl Lake	Cass	MN	A	81 ft	18
23	Little Toad Lake	Becker	MN	A	65 ft	15
24	Charlotte Lake	Wright	MN	A	46 ft	10
25	Crooked Lake	Stearns	MN	A	35 ft	10
26	Crooked Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	54 ft	16
27	Cedar Lake	Morrison	MN	A	88 ft	14
28	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	55 ft	20
29	Lower Bottle Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	110 ft	13
30	Big Pine Lake	Aitkin	MN	A	78 ft	15
31	Strawberry Lake	Becker	MN	A	40 ft	16
32	Alexander Lake	Morrison	MN	A	64 ft	19
33	Gull Lake	Cass	MN	A	80 ft	22
34	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	100 ft	21
35	Unnamed Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	95 ft	17
36	Trout Lake	Itasca	MN	A	135 ft	15
37	Cowdry Lake	Douglas	MN	A	52 ft	19
38	Blue Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	84 ft	13
39	Partridge Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	42 ft	10
40	Sand Lake	Cass	MN	A	54 ft	12
41	Andrusia Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	60 ft	21
42	Big Mcdonald Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	46 ft	15
43	Island Lake	Cass	MN	A	45 ft	12
44	Island Lake	Becker	MN	A	38 ft	15
45	Island Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	76 ft	19
46	Island Lake	Cass	MN	A	40 ft	13
47	Island Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	32 ft	13
48	Moose Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	71 ft	12
49	Lizzie Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	66 ft	21
50	Turtle Lake	Becker	MN	A	73 ft	13

Showing top 50 of 891 lakes with brown bullhead.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many lakes have brown bullhead?

Brown Bullhead are found in 4 graded lakes: 4 in North Dakota. The average water quality grade of lakes with brown bullhead is C (Fair).

What are the best lakes for brown bullhead?

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

What other fish are found with brown bullhead?

Brown Bullhead are most commonly found alongside brown bullhead, northern pike, black crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass. These species share similar habitat preferences in the region's lakes.

Other Fish Species in Brown Bullhead Lakes

Northern pike Lakes

Found together in 827 lakes · 99 total

Black Crappie Lakes

Found together in 824 lakes · 41 total

Bluegill Lakes

Found together in 822 lakes · 240 total

Largemouth bass Lakes

Found together in 808 lakes · 172 total

Pumpkinseed Lakes

Found together in 799 lakes · 145 total

Yellow Perch Lakes

Found together in 798 lakes · 113 total

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.