Smallmouth Bass Lakes in Minnesota & Wisconsin

Game FishFound in 422 lakes

Smallmouth Bass is a primary Minnesota and Wisconsin sport-fishing target. 422 lakes have an official record of the species — the actual population almost certainly extends further, since not every lake gets a full DNR fishery survey every year. Smallmouth Bass is moderately distributed — present in 0 Minnesota lakes and 422 Wisconsin lakes. Some counties have it, others do not, so checking the per-lake pages matters.

Game-fish presence on a Minnesota and Wisconsin lake also signals enough water-quality stability to support the prey species the game fish depend on — perch, alewife, ciscoes — which themselves require reasonably oxygenated, clear water. On the LakeGrade rubric, the cleanest Smallmouth Bass lakes tend to also be the highest-graded — the same water-clarity and nutrient conditions that support the species also produce the higher grades.

422

Total Lakes

Minnesota

422

Wisconsin

Avg. Grade

58 ft

Avg. Depth

Water Quality of Smallmouth Bass Lakes

486

57%

161

19%

105

12%

10%

Best Smallmouth Bass Lakes by Water Quality

Top 50 lakes with smallmouth bass 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	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	100 ft	21
3	Latoka Lake	Douglas	MN	A	108 ft	16
4	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	MN	A	84 ft	13
5	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	55 ft	20
6	Birch Lake	Cook	MN	A	69 ft	3
7	Birch Lake	Unknown	MN	A	34 ft	10
8	Round Lake	Cook	MN	A	45 ft	5
9	Pike Lake	Cook	MN	A	45 ft	7
10	Whitefish Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	138 ft	23
11	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	37 ft	12
12	Trout Lake	Itasca	MN	A	135 ft	15
13	Trout Lake	Itasca	MN	A	157 ft	9
14	Cowdry Lake	Douglas	MN	A	52 ft	19
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	Bear Lake	Lake	MN	A	31 ft	4
19	Blue Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	84 ft	13
20	Ida Lake	Douglas	MN	A	106 ft	19
21	Fish Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	69 ft	17
22	Sand Lake	Cass	MN	A	54 ft	12
23	Girl Lake	Cass	MN	A	81 ft	18
24	Bass Lake	Itasca	MN	A	65 ft	7
25	Bass Lake	Cass	MN	A	55 ft	12
26	Island Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	76 ft	19
27	Crooked Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	54 ft	16
28	Portage Lake	Cass	MN	A	84 ft	10
29	Big Pine Lake	Aitkin	MN	A	78 ft	15
30	Lizzie Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	66 ft	21
31	Eagles Nest Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	49 ft	9
32	Lower Bottle Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	110 ft	13
33	Mukooda Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	78 ft	14
34	Pokegama Lake	Itasca	MN	A	112 ft	19
35	Strawberry Lake	Becker	MN	A	40 ft	16
36	Alexander Lake	Morrison	MN	A	64 ft	19
37	George Lake	Kandiyohi	MN	A	34 ft	15
38	Middle Cormorant Lake	Becker	MN	A	40 ft	13
39	Upper Bottle Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	55 ft	14
40	Ottertrack Lake	Unknown	MN	A	116 ft	9
41	Miltona Lake	Douglas	MN	A	105 ft	19
42	Caribou Lake	Itasca	MN	A	152 ft	7
43	Wabana Lake	Itasca	MN	A	115 ft	14
44	Kimball Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	77 ft	16
45	Hatch Lake	Itasca	MN	A	88 ft	15
46	Serpent Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	65 ft	17
47	North Twin Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	59 ft	12
48	North Star Lake	Itasca	MN	A	90 ft	13
49	Pleasant Lake	Cass	MN	A	72 ft	15
50	Webb Lake	Cass	MN	A	84 ft	12

Showing top 50 of 860 lakes with smallmouth bass.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many lakes have smallmouth bass?

Smallmouth Bass are found in 422 lakes across Minnesota and Wisconsin, 0 in Minnesota and 422 in Wisconsin. The average water quality grade of lakes with smallmouth bass is B (Good).

What are the best lakes for smallmouth bass?

The best smallmouth bass lakes by water quality are East Fox Lake, Lower Hay Lake, Latoka Lake, Bad Medicine Lake, Pelican Lake. These lakes have the highest water quality grades among all lakes where smallmouth bass have been documented by state DNR surveys.

What other fish are found with smallmouth bass?

Smallmouth Bass are most commonly found alongside smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, panfish, largemouth bass. These species share similar habitat preferences in the region's lakes.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.