Best Musky Lakes: Top Muskellunge Waters (MN, WI & MI)

Rank	Lake	County	State	Clarity	Depth	Area
1	Deer Lake	Itasca	MN	13.1 ft	121 ft	4093.48 ac
2	Round Lake	Sawyer	WI	21.1 ft	74 ft	3294 ac
3	Round Lake	Benzie	MI	15 ft	-	15.2 ac
4	Big Sand Lake	Hubbard	MN	23 ft	135 ft	1638.65 ac
5	Grindstone Lake	Sawyer	WI	17.4 ft	60 ft	3176 ac
6	Round Lake	Shiawassee	MI	6 ft	-	11.2 ac
7	North Star Lake	Itasca	MN	19 ft	90 ft	831.62 ac
8	Little Round Lake	Sawyer	WI	17.3 ft	38 ft	179 ac
9	Elk Lake	Antrim	MI	14.5 ft	150 ft	-
10	Miltona Lake	Douglas	MN	18.7 ft	105 ft	5730.99 ac
11	Osprey Lake	Sawyer	WI	16 ft	32 ft	214 ac
12	Clam Lake	Antrim	MI	12 ft	8 ft	437.4 ac
13	Cass Lake	Beltrami	MN	18.5 ft	120 ft	15958.25 ac
14	Whitefish Lake	Sawyer	WI	13.5 ft	105 ft	800 ac
15	Round Lake	Oakland	MI	10.5 ft	15 ft	48.7 ac
16	Pickerel Lake	Becker	MN	18 ft	74 ft	360.63 ac
17	Lac Courte Oreilles Lake	Sawyer	WI	12.2 ft	90 ft	5139 ac
18	Round Lake	Oakland	MI	10 ft	-	33.5 ac
19	West Battle Lake	Otter Tail	MN	18 ft	108 ft	5614.95 ac
20	Ashegon Lake	Sawyer	WI	10.5 ft	56 ft	75 ac
21	Round Lake	Kent	MI	8 ft	-	83.2 ac
22	Girl Lake	Cass	MN	17.6 ft	81 ft	428.18 ac
23	Sand Lake	Sawyer	WI	10 ft	50 ft	949 ac
24	Round Lake	Shiawassee	MI	6.5 ft	-	11.2 ac
25	Kabekona Bay Lake	Cass	MN	17.2 ft	150 ft	103443.8 ac
26	Boot Lake	Oconto	WI	21.5 ft	38 ft	230 ac
27	Alexander Lake	Morrison	MN	16.5 ft	64 ft	2708.77 ac
28	Hasbrook Lake	Oneida	WI	21 ft	50 ft	307 ac
29	Sugar Lake	Wright	MN	16.5 ft	69 ft	1014.21 ac
30	Middle Mckenzie Lake	Burnett	WI	20 ft	45 ft	527 ac
31	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	MN	16.4 ft	55 ft	3961.78 ac
32	Alva Lake	Oneida	WI	19.5 ft	43 ft	199 ac
33	Ida Lake	Douglas	MN	16.4 ft	106 ft	4445.29 ac
34	Upper Kaubashine Lake	Oneida	WI	19 ft	56 ft	181 ac
35	Lizzie Lake	Otter Tail	MN	16.4 ft	66 ft	1913.41 ac
36	Upper Eau Claire Lake	Bayfield	WI	18.7 ft	92 ft	1024 ac
37	Pokegama Lake	Itasca	MN	16.1 ft	112 ft	6721.3 ac
38	Beasley Lake	Waupaca	WI	18.4 ft	47 ft	12 ac
39	Andrusia Lake	Beltrami	MN	15.1 ft	60 ft	1595.51 ac
40	Middle Eau Claire Lake	Bayfield	WI	18.2 ft	66 ft	880 ac
41	Gull Lake	Cass	MN	15 ft	80 ft	10009.97 ac
42	Plummer Lake	Vilas	WI	18 ft	85 ft	219 ac
43	Dumbbell Lake	Lake	MN	14.8 ft	40 ft	406.11 ac
44	Mildred Lake	Oneida	WI	18 ft	45 ft	168 ac
45	Louise Lake	Douglas	MN	14.5 ft	33 ft	214.46 ac
46	Presque Isle Lake	Vilas	WI	18 ft	103 ft	1165 ac
47	White Bear Lake	Washington	MN	14.4 ft	83 ft	2427.7 ac
48	Archibald Lake	Oconto	WI	17.8 ft	50 ft	392 ac
49	Broadwater Bay Lake	Cass	MN	14.4 ft	54 ft	5519.65 ac
50	Clear Lake	Sawyer	WI	17.3 ft	32 ft	77 ac

Musky Habitat & Water Quality

Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family and require large, healthy lake ecosystems. They prefer clear to moderately clear lakes (Secchi depth 4-15 feet) with extensive weed beds, rocky structure, and abundant forage fish like perch, suckers, and cisco.

Water quality directly affects musky populations. High phosphorus and algae levels reduce oxygen in deeper water where muskies retreat during summer heat. Lakes with declining water quality often see musky populations shrink even when stocking continues.

Minnesota and Wisconsin are the top two musky destinations in the country. Wisconsin is considered the musky capital of the world, with extensive stocking programs and strict size limits that have produced world-class trophy fisheries.

Cleanest Lakes →Clearest Water →Improving →Declining →

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