Channel Catfish Lakes in Minnesota

Found in 135 Minnesota lakes

Channel Catfish fits the catfish niche: tolerant of warm, turbid water, often present in productive (eutrophic) lakes. 135 lakes in our dataset have a record. Channel Catfish is moderately distributed — 135 lakes in Minnesota. Some counties have it, others do not, so checking the per-lake pages matters.

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

135

Minnesota Lakes

Avg. Grade

Grade A Lakes

Counties

Channel Catfish Lakes Map

Every Minnesota lake with documented channel catfish, colored by water-quality grade.

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Best Channel Catfish Lakes in Minnesota

Rank	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Depth
1	Little Birch Lake	Todd	A	13 ft	89 ft
2	Big Spunk Lake	Stearns	A	10 ft	38 ft
3	Colby Lake	St. Louis	A	3 ft	30 ft
4	Green Lake	Kandiyohi	A	14.1 ft	110 ft
5	Minnewaska Lake	Pope	A	11 ft	32 ft
6	Whitewater Lake	St. Louis	A	14 ft	73 ft
7	Lake St Croix	Pierce	B	7.2 ft	78 ft
8	Pool	Washington	B	5.9 ft	78 ft
9	Spitzer Lake	Otter Tail	B	7 ft	33 ft
10	Big Lake	Stearns	C	6.9 ft	42 ft
11	Washington Lake	Meeker	C	4.5 ft	17 ft
12	Union Lake	Wright	C	5.5 ft	35 ft
13	Allie Lake	Renville	C	3 ft	12 ft
14	Crooked Lake	Anoka	C	7.1 ft	26 ft
15	Big Sandy Lake	Aitkin	C	4.5 ft	84 ft
16	Sleepy Eye Lake	Brown	C	3.3 ft	21 ft
17	Loon Lake	Waseca	C	2.5 ft	9 ft
18	Pool of Lake St Croix	Washington	C	4.3 ft	78 ft
19	St James Lake	Watonwan	C	3 ft	15.4 ft
20	Deep Lake	Ramsey	C	3.9 ft	11 ft
21	Augusta Lake	Stearns	C	5.3 ft	82 ft
22	Nest Lake	Kandiyohi	C	7 ft	40 ft
23	Big Kandiyohi Lake	Kandiyohi	C	5.2 ft	18 ft
24	Warner Lake	Stearns	C	6 ft	38 ft
25	Upper Estuary Lake	St. Louis	C	1.9 ft	55 ft
26	Pelican Lake	Pope	D	5.2 ft	34 ft
27	Charley Lake	Ramsey	D	4.6 ft	21 ft
28	Round Lake	Jackson	D	2 ft	9 ft
29	Long Lake	Watonwan	D	2.5 ft	13 ft
30	Zumbro Lake	Olmsted	D	4 ft	43 ft
31	Emily Lake	Pope	D	2 ft	6 ft
32	Foot Lake	Kandiyohi	D	2.3 ft	24 ft
33	Krays Lake	Stearns	D	3.5 ft	40 ft
34	Betty Lake	Meeker	D	5.6 ft	29 ft
35	Briggs Lake	Sherburne	D	3 ft	25 ft
36	South Long Lake	Ramsey	D	3.9 ft	30 ft
37	Wood Lake	Yellow Medicine	D	3 ft	9 ft
38	Golden Lake	Anoka	D	4.5 ft	25 ft
39	Louisa Lake	Stearns	D	5.7 ft	44 ft
40	Cottonwood Lake	Cottonwood	D	2.1 ft	10 ft
41	Little Spirit Lake	Jackson	D	3.3 ft	8 ft
42	Madison Lake	Blue Earth	D	4 ft	59 ft
43	Okabena Lake	Nobles	D	3.3 ft	16 ft
44	Schneider Lake	Stearns	D	12 ft	52 ft
45	Eden Lake	Stearns	D	3 ft	77 ft
46	Mud Lake	Stearns	F	3 ft	20 ft
47	Mud Lake	Martin	F	1.6 ft	19 ft
48	Horseshoe Lake	Stearns	F	4 ft	57 ft
49	Long Lake	Stearns	F	2.5 ft	35 ft
50	Big Swan Lake	Meeker	F	2.6 ft	32 ft

Showing top 50 of 135 lakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Minnesota lakes have channel catfish?

Channel Catfish are found in 135 lakes in Minnesota. The average water quality grade of these lakes is D (Nutrient-rich).

What are the best channel catfish lakes in Minnesota?

The best channel catfish lakes in Minnesota by water quality are Little Birch Lake, Big Spunk Lake, Colby Lake, Green Lake, Minnewaska Lake.

Fish species from state agency survey, stocking, and public fishing-access records; water-quality grades from the EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys.