Yellow Perch Lakes in North Dakota

Found in 113 North Dakota lakes

Yellow Perch is panfish — the family of smaller, abundant species that anchor kid-friendly fishing and ice-fishing in North Dakota. Documented in 113 lakes across our dataset. 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.

113

North Dakota Lakes

Avg. Grade

Grade A Lakes

Counties

Best Yellow Perch Lakes in North Dakota

Rank	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Depth
1	Arnegard Dam Lake	McKenzie	A	-	12.2 ft
2	Epping-Springbrook Dam-Littoral Lake	Williams	A	-	25.4 ft
3	Jarvis Beach Lake	Rolette	A	-	26.3 ft
4	Spiritwood Lake	Stutsman	A	31 ft	54.7 ft
5	Lake Upsilon	Rolette	A	11.2 ft	25 ft
6	Twin Lakes	LaMoure	A	14.1 ft	40.3 ft
7	Round Lake	McHenry	A	12.1 ft	16.7 ft
8	Arroda Lake	Oliver	B	6.7 ft	36.7 ft
9	Kota Ray Dam Lake	Williams	B	7.7 ft	26.2 ft
10	Skjermo Lake	Divide	B	7.7 ft	19 ft
11	Whitman Dam Lake	Nelson	B	12 ft	20.8 ft
12	Patterson Lake	Stark	B	-	24.8 ft
13	Lake Ashtabula	Barnes	B	3.4 ft	42.8 ft
14	Lake Ashtabula	Barnes	B	6.6 ft	42.8 ft
15	Mt Carmel Dam Lake	Cavalier	B	7.9 ft	31.2 ft
16	Gordon Center Lake	Rolette	B	8.2 ft	28.3 ft
17	Wheaton Lake	Rolette	B	8.5 ft	25.6 ft
18	Lake Darling	Renville	B	4.9 ft	28.7 ft
19	Lake Darling	Renville	B	9.8 ft	28.7 ft
20	Clark Lake	Stutsman	B	10 ft	21.9 ft
21	Jarvis Lake Center	Rolette	B	7.7 ft	26.3 ft
22	Moores Lake	Dickey	B	6.2 ft	12.9 ft
23	Jamestown Reservoir	Stutsman	B	7.2 ft	36.2 ft
24	Pheasant Lake	Dickey	B	3.6 ft	19.1 ft
25	Baukol-Noonan Dam Lake	Divide	B	9.7 ft	28 ft
26	North Lemmon Lake	Adams	B	5.7 ft	31.4 ft
27	Blacktail Dam Lake	Williams	B	7.2 ft	36.3 ft
28	Lutz Dam Lake	Bowman	B	14.4 ft	12.6 ft
29	Lake Williams	Kidder	B	4.7 ft	30.5 ft
30	Homme Dam Lake	Walsh	B	5.7 ft	29.3 ft
31	Lake Audubon	McLean	B	4.7 ft	59.4 ft
32	North Carlson Lake	Ward	B	3.7 ft	24.7 ft
33	Carlson-Tande Dam Lake	Griggs	C	5.6 ft	23 ft
34	Fordville Dam Lake	Grand Forks	C	4.4 ft	29.9 ft
35	Moon Lake	Barnes	C	4.4 ft	54.3 ft
36	Red Willow Lake	Griggs	C	6.4 ft	23.5 ft
37	Powers Lake	Mountrail	C	5.6 ft	9.7 ft
38	Kulm-Edgeley Dam Lake	LaMoure	C	9 ft	27.4 ft
39	Lake Metigoshe	Bottineau	C	5.4 ft	23.3 ft
40	Short Creek Dam Lake	Burke	C	3.8 ft	27.6 ft
41	Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake	Wells	C	9.5 ft	27.1 ft
42	Lake Tschida	Grant	C	5.1 ft	57 ft
43	Lake Lamoure	LaMoure	C	8 ft	31.4 ft
44	Lake Tschida	Grant	C	5.2 ft	57 ft
45	Buffalo Lodge Lake	McHenry	C	3 ft	12.2 ft
46	East Arroda Lake	Oliver	C	5.6 ft	33.6 ft
47	Belfield Dam Lake	Stark	C	3.8 ft	16.3 ft
48	Kalina Dam Lake	Bowman	C	3.1 ft	22 ft
49	Beaver Lake	Logan	C	1.4 ft	7.9 ft
50	Harvey Dam Lake	Wells	C	5.4 ft	20.2 ft

Showing top 50 of 113 lakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many North Dakota lakes have yellow perch?

Yellow Perch are found in 113 lakes in North Dakota. The average water quality grade of these lakes is C (Fair).

What are the best yellow perch lakes in North Dakota?

The best yellow perch lakes in North Dakota by water quality are Arnegard Dam Lake, Epping-Springbrook Dam-Littoral Lake, Jarvis Beach Lake, Spiritwood Lake, Lake Upsilon.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.