White Bass Lakes in Minnesota, 42 Lakes

White Bass is a primary Minnesota sport-fishing target. 44 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. White Bass is narrowly distributed — only 42 lakes in Minnesota and 2 in Michigan have a documented record. The constraint is usually habitat: cold water, specific depth profile, or river connection.

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. The White Bass lakes with the lowest nutrient and algae readings tend to be the ones where the species does best, since the same water-clarity and nutrient conditions support both.

Minnesota Lakes

Counties

White Bass Lakes Map

Every Minnesota lake with documented white bass.

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Best White Bass Lakes in Minnesota

Rank	Lake	County	Clarity	Depth
1	East Vadnais Lake	Ramsey	-	58 ft
2	Lake St Croix	Pierce	7.2 ft	78 ft
3	Pool	Washington	5.9 ft	78 ft
4	Upper Prior Lake	Scott	5 ft	50 ft
5	Lower Prior Lake	Scott	10 ft	60 ft
6	Pool of Lake St Croix	Washington	4.3 ft	78 ft
7	Deep Lake	Ramsey	3.9 ft	11 ft
8	Upper Estuary Lake	St. Louis	1.9 ft	55 ft
9	Charley Lake	Ramsey	4.6 ft	21 ft
10	Round Lake	Jackson	2 ft	9 ft
11	Zumbro Lake	Olmsted	4 ft	43 ft
12	Emily Lake	Pope	2 ft	6 ft
13	Pleasant Lake	Ramsey	5.6 ft	58 ft
14	Spring Lake	Scott	6.2 ft	37 ft
15	Little Spirit Lake	Jackson	3.3 ft	8 ft
16	Madison Lake	Blue Earth	4 ft	59 ft
17	Tetonka Lake	Le Sueur	3 ft	35 ft
18	Roberds Lake	Rice	2.5 ft	43 ft
19	Cedar Lake	Rice	2 ft	42 ft
20	Pokegama Lake	Pine	2 ft	25 ft
21	Circle Lake	Rice	1.5 ft	14 ft
22	Fox Lake	Rice	3 ft	47 ft
23	Loon Lake	Jackson	0.9 ft	8 ft
24	Mazaska Lake	Rice	2.5 ft	50 ft
25	French Lake	Rice	1.7 ft	56 ft
26	German Lake	Le Sueur	3.5 ft	51 ft
27	Wells Lake	Rice	2 ft	4 ft
28	Winona Lake	Winona	2.6 ft	38 ft
29	Upper Sakatah Lake	Le Sueur	3 ft	12 ft
30	Byllesby Lake	Dakota	3 ft	50 ft
31	Gorman Lake	Le Sueur	3.7 ft	14 ft
32	Cannon Lake	Rice	4.1 ft	15 ft
33	Bright Lake	Martin	1 ft	7 ft
34	Fish Lake	Kanabec	2 ft	8 ft
35	Del Clark Lake	Yellow Medicine	5 ft	30 ft
36	Pepin Lake	Pepin	3 ft	60 ft
37	Hendricks Lake	Lincoln	6.5 ft	9 ft
38	Shields Lake	Rice	2.5 ft	42 ft
39	Spring Lake	Dakota	2.1 ft	17 ft
40	Lake Jefferson	Le Sueur	4 ft	37 ft
41	South Silver Lake	Martin	3 ft	22 ft
42	Little Tuttle Lake	Martin	1 ft	7 ft

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Minnesota lakes have white bass?

White Bass are found in 42 lakes in Minnesota.

What are the best white bass lakes in Minnesota?

The best white bass lakes in Minnesota by water quality are East Vadnais Lake, Lake St Croix, Pool, Upper Prior Lake, Lower Prior Lake.

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