Channel Catfish Lakes in Minnesota
Found in 134 Minnesota lakes
Channel Catfish fits the catfish niche: tolerant of warm, turbid water, often present in productive (eutrophic) lakes. 134 lakes in our dataset have a record. Channel Catfish is moderately distributed — 134 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 each lake's clarity, phosphorus and algae readings: lakes with low nutrient readings and Channel Catfish documented are the best places to start for recreational targeting.
Channel Catfish Lakes Map
Every Minnesota lake with documented channel catfish.
Best Channel Catfish Lakes in Minnesota
Catch per net is how many channel catfish MPCA counted in each standard gill nets on that lake’s most recent survey.
Catch per net measures abundance in the survey, not size or fishing pressure.
| Rank | Lake | County | Channel Catfish per gill net | Survey | Mean length | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hanska Lake fishing | Brown | 19.78 | August 18, 2025 | - | 1,795 |
| 2 | Emily Lake fishing | Pope | 15.12 | June 2, 2025 | - | 2,316 |
| 3 | Knaus Lake fishing | Stearns | 10.50 | July 31, 2024 | 21.3 in | 216 |
| 4 | Byllesby Lake fishing | Dakota | 8.12 | June 13, 2023 | - | 1,368 |
| 5 | Zumwalde Lake fishing | Stearns | 7.00 | July 29, 2024 | 20.4 in | 128 |
| 6 | Little Rock Lake fishing | Benton | 6.73 | June 18, 2025 | - | 1,311 |
| 7 | Cottonwood Lake fishing | Cottonwood | 5.67 | August 19, 2024 | - | 155 |
| 8 | Bright Lake fishing | Martin | 5.00 | June 16, 2025 | - | 639 |
| 9 | Betty Lake fishing | Meeker | 4.83 | August 1, 2022 | 20.7 in | 154 |
| 10 | Krays Lake fishing | Stearns | 4.50 | July 30, 2024 | 22.1 in | 95 |
| 11 | Mud Lake fishing | Martin | 4.50 | August 22, 2022 | - | 182 |
| 12 | Pepin Lake fishing | Pepin | 4.08 | July 11, 2024 | - | 12,299 |
| 13 | Bolfing Lake fishing | Stearns | 4.00 | July 31, 2024 | 22.1 in | 109 |
| 14 | George Lake fishing | Martin | 3.50 | July 28, 2025 | - | 83 |
| 15 | North Brown'S Lake fishing | Stearns | 3.00 | June 13, 2024 | - | 312 |
| 16 | Becker Lake fishing | Stearns | 2.50 | August 1, 2024 | - | 221 |
| 17 | Allie Lake fishing | Renville | 2.44 | June 30, 2025 | - | 509 |
| 18 | Swan Lake fishing | McLeod | 2.00 | October 7, 2025 | - | 352 |
| 19 | Split Rock Reservoir fishing | Pipestone | 2.00 | July 7, 2025 | - | 96 |
| 20 | South Long Lake fishing | Ramsey | 2.00 | August 2, 2021 | - | 173 |
| 21 | Zumbro Lake fishing | Olmsted | 1.67 | June 14, 2021 | 22.6 in | 715 |
| 22 | Ann Lake fishing | Kanabec | 1.44 | June 21, 2021 | - | 653 |
| 23 | Pearl Lake fishing | Jackson | 1.00 | June 30, 2025 | - | 117 |
| 24 | South Silver Lake fishing | Martin | 1.00 | August 8, 2022 | - | 252 |
| 25 | Crooked Lake fishing | Anoka | 1.00 | July 19, 2021 | - | 115 |
| 26 | Colby Lake fishing | St. Louis | 0.89 | July 14, 2025 | 18.7 in | 518 |
| 27 | Arvilla Lake fishing | Meeker | 0.83 | July 9, 2018 | - | 138 |
| 28 | Wells Lake fishing | Rice | 0.78 | July 27, 2020 | - | 677 |
| 29 | Deer Lake fishing | Wright | 0.67 | August 14, 2023 | - | 171 |
| 30 | Golden Lake fishing | Anoka | 0.50 | May 28, 2018 | 19 in | 58 |
| 31 | Augusta Lake fishing | Stearns | 0.40 | July 1, 2019 | - | 187 |
| 32 | Fountain Lake fishing | Freeborn | 0.38 | August 12, 2024 | - | 522 |
| 33 | Foot Lake fishing | Kandiyohi | 0.33 | July 21, 2025 | - | 503 |
| 34 | Moosehead Lake fishing | Carlton | 0.33 | July 10, 2023 | - | 279 |
| 35 | Caroline Lake fishing | Wright | 0.33 | July 1, 2019 | - | 137 |
| 36 | Pelican Lake fishing | Pope | 0.22 | June 13, 2022 | - | 518 |
| 37 | Sleepy Eye Lake fishing | Brown | 0.17 | August 16, 2021 | - | 241 |
| 38 | Spitzer Lake fishing | Otter Tail | 0.11 | June 18, 2018 | - | 731 |
| 39 | Big Lake fishing | Stearns | 0.11 | August 7, 2017 | - | 458 |
| 40 | Green Lake fishing | Kandiyohi | 0.08 | September 12, 2025 | - | 5,569 |
| 41 | Whitewater Lake fishing | St. Louis | 0.08 | August 21, 2023 | - | 1,212 |
| 42 | Whiteface Reservoir fishing | St. Louis | 0.07 | July 18, 2022 | - | 4,567 |
42 Minnesota lakes have a channel catfish catch rate on record from the last ten years.
Cite this data: LakeQuality. “Best Channel Catfish Lakes in Minnesota.” Data: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency fisheries surveys. Retrieved August 26, 2026. https://www.lakequality.org/fish/channel-catfish/mn
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Minnesota lakes have channel catfish?
Channel Catfish are found in 134 lakes in Minnesota.
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 readings from the EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys.