What is the best fishing lake near Fargo?

Turtle Lake in Becker County is the top-ranked fishing lake near Fargo on measured water quality (29.9 miles away).

How many lakes are near Fargo for fishing?

30 lakes within driving distance of Fargo match the fishing filters used on this page.

Best Lakes for Fishing Near Fargo, ND

30 fishing lakes within driving distance of Fargo, North Dakota, ranked by water quality and fishing-specific filters. Filtered for documented fish species (3+) and public access. Ranked by water quality and species diversity.

Fargo sits in a lake-rich part of the upper Midwest: 30 measured lakes within reach. Turtle Lake carries the lowest nutrient and algae readings of the cluster.

The fishing-specific ranking layered on top of the readings is what produces the list below: a lake with clean readings that does not also support the fishing use case is less useful than a decent one that does.

#	Lake	County	Distance	Clarity	Depth
1	Turtle Lake	Becker	29.9 mi	23 ft	73 ft
2	Middle Cormorant Lake	Becker	33.1 mi	15.1 ft	40 ft
3	Ida Lake	Becker	34.4 mi	12.1 ft	20 ft
4	Big Cormorant Lake	Becker	35.7 mi	24.8 ft	75 ft
5	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	38.3 mi	16.4 ft	55 ft
6	Maud Lake	Becker	39.1 mi	17 ft	32 ft
7	Lizzie Lake	Otter Tail	39.9 mi	16.4 ft	66 ft
8	Eunice Lake	Becker	40.1 mi	13.5 ft	30 ft
9	Pearl Lake	Becker	40.8 mi	10 ft	54 ft
10	Franklin Lake	Otter Tail	41.5 mi	13.1 ft	48 ft
11	Long Lake	Becker	42.7 mi	19.5 ft	61 ft
12	Sallie Lake	Becker	43.1 mi	13 ft	50 ft
13	Mill Lake	Becker	43.2 mi	8.5 ft	10 ft
14	Melissa Lake	Becker	43.3 mi	13.1 ft	37 ft
15	Tamarac Lake	Becker	43.3 mi	6.9 ft	34 ft
16	Mud Lake	Becker	43.9 mi	12.5 ft	34 ft
17	Meadow Lake	Becker	44.3 mi	14 ft	72 ft
18	Floyd Lake	Becker	44.5 mi	13.1 ft	34 ft
19	Lida Lake	Otter Tail	44.6 mi	14 ft	58 ft
20	Little Floyd Lake	Becker	45.2 mi	11 ft	34 ft
21	Detroit Lake	Becker	45.3 mi	14 ft	89 ft
22	Trowbridge Lake	Otter Tail	46.4 mi	13.5 ft	76 ft
23	Long Lake	Otter Tail	46.6 mi	11.6 ft	73 ft
24	Jewett Lake	Otter Tail	47.7 mi	17.7 ft	75 ft
25	West Silent Lake	Otter Tail	48.6 mi	18 ft	58 ft
26	East Loon Lake	Otter Tail	48.8 mi	13.5 ft	105 ft
27	Big Sugar Bush Lake	Becker	49.2 mi	16.5 ft	42 ft
28	Six Lake	Otter Tail	49.2 mi	21 ft	140 ft
29	Scalp Lake	Otter Tail	49.6 mi	20 ft	90 ft
30	Prairie Lake	Otter Tail	38.9 mi	8.9 ft	22 ft

Other activities near Fargo

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Where to stay near Fargo

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Top-rated places to stay near Fargo

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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.