Yellow Perch Lakes in Minnesota

Found in 1,452 Minnesota lakes · 113 in North Dakota

Panfish like Yellow Perch are the workhorses of Minnesota recreational fishing — abundant, accessible, present in 113 surveyed lakes. Yellow Perch is moderately distributed — 113 lakes in North Dakota. Some counties have it, others do not, so checking the per-lake pages matters.

Panfish species like Yellow Perch tolerate a wide range of water quality, so their presence in a lake says less about the lake than the absence of a game-fish would. Cross-reference the Yellow Perch lake list below against the LakeGrade rubric: lakes with both an A or B grade and Yellow Perch documented are the best places to start for recreational targeting.

1,452

Minnesota Lakes

Avg. Grade

445

Grade A Lakes

Counties

Best Yellow Perch Lakes in Minnesota

Rank	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Depth
1	East Fox Lake	Crow Wing	A	16.4 ft	65 ft
2	North Long Lake	Crow Wing	A	15.1 ft	97 ft
3	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	A	25 ft	84 ft
4	Big Sugar Bush Lake	Becker	A	16.5 ft	42 ft
5	Round Lake	Cook	A	16.5 ft	45 ft
6	Horseshoe Lake	Cass	A	21 ft	51 ft
7	Long Lake	Cass	A	21.5 ft	115 ft
8	Long Lake	Clearwater	A	20.5 ft	80 ft
9	Long Lake	Beltrami	A	20 ft	87 ft
10	Long Lake	Becker	A	19.3 ft	61 ft
11	Long Lake	Cass	A	17 ft	37 ft
12	Long Lake	Itasca	A	16.7 ft	72 ft
13	Long Lake	Itasca	A	16.9 ft	85 ft
14	Dead Lake	Hubbard	A	16 ft	34 ft
15	Otter Lake	Otter Tail	A	18 ft	64 ft
16	Ossawinnamakee Lake	Crow Wing	A	20 ft	63 ft
17	Clear Lake	Crow Wing	A	18 ft	63 ft
18	Clear Lake	Aitkin	A	15 ft	24 ft
19	Clear Lake	Itasca	A	14.9 ft	30 ft
20	Eagle Lake	Otter Tail	A	22.6 ft	46 ft
21	West Fox Lake	Crow Wing	A	15 ft	55 ft
22	Spearhead Lake	Hubbard	A	15 ft	81 ft
23	Ida Lake	Douglas	A	16.4 ft	106 ft
24	Star Lake	Crow Wing	A	19 ft	83 ft
25	Star Lake	Otter Tail	A	17 ft	94 ft
26	Upper Maple Lake	Wright	A	17.2 ft	76 ft
27	Fish Lake	Otter Tail	A	18 ft	69 ft
28	Birch Lake	Unknown	A	15 ft	34 ft
29	Girl Lake	Cass	A	17.6 ft	81 ft
30	Little Toad Lake	Becker	A	15 ft	65 ft
31	Charlotte Lake	Wright	A	17.1 ft	46 ft
32	Bass Lake	Crow Wing	A	16.1 ft	47 ft
33	Bass Lake	Itasca	A	18.2 ft	65 ft
34	Bass Lake	Cass	A	-	55 ft
35	Crooked Lake	Crow Wing	A	15 ft	54 ft
36	Cedar Lake	Morrison	A	16.2 ft	88 ft
37	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	A	16.4 ft	55 ft
38	Square Lake	Washington	A	17 ft	68 ft
39	Lower Bottle Lake	Hubbard	A	15 ft	110 ft
40	Big Pine Lake	Aitkin	A	17 ft	78 ft
41	Strawberry Lake	Becker	A	17.5 ft	40 ft
42	Alexander Lake	Morrison	A	16.5 ft	64 ft
43	Mcavity Lake	Itasca	A	17.3 ft	29 ft
44	Gull Lake	Cass	A	15 ft	80 ft
45	Little Wabana Lake	Itasca	A	24 ft	57 ft
46	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	A	18.5 ft	100 ft
47	Latoka Lake	Douglas	A	19 ft	108 ft
48	Pike Lake	Cook	A	17.4 ft	45 ft
49	Pike Lake	St. Louis	A	18 ft	60 ft
50	Unnamed Lake	Otter Tail	A	15.1 ft	95 ft

Showing top 50 of 1,452 lakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Minnesota lakes have yellow perch?

Yellow Perch are found in 1,452 lakes in Minnesota. The average water quality grade of these lakes is C (Fair).

What are the best yellow perch lakes in Minnesota?

The best yellow perch lakes in Minnesota by water quality are East Fox Lake, North Long Lake, Bad Medicine Lake, Big Sugar Bush Lake, Round Lake.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.