Smallmouth Bass Lakes in Minnesota

Found in 438 Minnesota lakes · 422 in Wisconsin

Smallmouth Bass is a primary Minnesota 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 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.

438

Minnesota Lakes

Avg. Grade

195

Grade A Lakes

Counties

Best Smallmouth Bass Lakes in Minnesota

Rank	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Depth
1	East Fox Lake	Crow Wing	A	16.1 ft	65 ft
2	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	A	19 ft	100 ft
3	Latoka Lake	Douglas	A	19 ft	108 ft
4	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	A	25 ft	84 ft
5	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	A	16.1 ft	55 ft
6	Birch Lake	Cook	A	18 ft	69 ft
7	Birch Lake	Unknown	A	15 ft	34 ft
8	Round Lake	Cook	A	16.5 ft	45 ft
9	Pike Lake	Cook	A	17.8 ft	45 ft
10	Whitefish Lake	Crow Wing	A	15.1 ft	138 ft
11	Long Lake	Cass	A	16.8 ft	37 ft
12	Trout Lake	Itasca	A	15.5 ft	135 ft
13	Trout Lake	Itasca	A	18 ft	157 ft
14	Cowdry Lake	Douglas	A	17 ft	52 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	16 ft	24 ft
18	Bear Lake	Lake	A	17.4 ft	31 ft
19	Blue Lake	Hubbard	A	17.4 ft	84 ft
20	Ida Lake	Douglas	A	16.5 ft	106 ft
21	Fish Lake	Otter Tail	A	17.8 ft	69 ft
22	Sand Lake	Cass	A	21 ft	54 ft
23	Girl Lake	Cass	A	17 ft	81 ft
24	Bass Lake	Itasca	A	18.2 ft	65 ft
25	Bass Lake	Cass	A	-	55 ft
26	Island Lake	Crow Wing	A	15.3 ft	76 ft
27	Crooked Lake	Crow Wing	A	15 ft	54 ft
28	Portage Lake	Cass	A	22.8 ft	84 ft
29	Big Pine Lake	Aitkin	A	16.5 ft	78 ft
30	Lizzie Lake	Otter Tail	A	16.4 ft	66 ft
31	Eagles Nest Lake	St. Louis	A	15.5 ft	49 ft
32	Lower Bottle Lake	Hubbard	A	15 ft	110 ft
33	Mukooda Lake	St. Louis	A	16.6 ft	78 ft
34	Pokegama Lake	Itasca	A	16 ft	112 ft
35	Strawberry Lake	Becker	A	17.8 ft	40 ft
36	Alexander Lake	Morrison	A	16.5 ft	64 ft
37	George Lake	Kandiyohi	A	15 ft	34 ft
38	Middle Cormorant Lake	Becker	A	15.1 ft	40 ft
39	Upper Bottle Lake	Hubbard	A	16 ft	55 ft
40	Ottertrack Lake	Unknown	A	20.7 ft	116 ft
41	Miltona Lake	Douglas	A	18.8 ft	105 ft
42	Caribou Lake	Itasca	A	31 ft	152 ft
43	Wabana Lake	Itasca	A	18 ft	115 ft
44	Kimball Lake	Crow Wing	A	17.4 ft	77 ft
45	Hatch Lake	Itasca	A	16.5 ft	88 ft
46	Serpent Lake	Crow Wing	A	25 ft	65 ft
47	North Twin Lake	Beltrami	A	17.4 ft	59 ft
48	North Star Lake	Itasca	A	19 ft	90 ft
49	Pleasant Lake	Cass	A	15.4 ft	72 ft
50	Webb Lake	Cass	A	17.8 ft	84 ft

Showing top 50 of 438 lakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Minnesota lakes have smallmouth bass?

Smallmouth Bass are found in 438 lakes in Minnesota. The average water quality grade of these lakes is B (Good).

What are the best smallmouth bass lakes in Minnesota?

The best smallmouth bass lakes in Minnesota by water quality are East Fox Lake, Lower Hay Lake, Latoka Lake, Bad Medicine Lake, Pelican Lake.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.