Artichoke Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Bigmouth Buffalo, Channel Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Black Bullhead
Boat: 3 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Artichoke Lake (S) Public Water Access Site, 2 lanes.

The lake

Artichoke Lake covers 1,974 acres in Minnesota, across 2 counties: Big Stone and Swift. It is a lake: the deepest point measured is at least 11 feet (3.4 m). Our records hold 14 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Northern Pike

  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Bigmouth Buffalo — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Freshwater Drum — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Black Bullhead — Feeding water: 70–80°F.

Also recorded here: White Sucker, White Bass, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Orangespotted Sunfish, Common Carp.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 11 ft (3.4 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. We hold 125 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 4.3% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 4–5 ft: 5.5% of the water
  • 5–6 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 6–7 ft: 10.9% of the water
  • 7–8 ft: 14.4% of the water
  • 8–9 ft: 12% of the water
  • 9–10 ft: 15.5% of the water
  • 10–11 ft: 22.3% of the water

3 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 3 trailer ramps.

Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP 2021
USDA Farm Service Agency, NAIP 2021 aerial imagery (USGS The National Map) · Public domain
  • Artichoke Lake (S) Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Artichoke Lake (E) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. Artichoke Township.
  • Artichoke Lake (N) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 3 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 71°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 55°F and the warmest is 78°F; the warmest monthly average is 77°F. pH averages 8.5. These readings span 2017–2019. The latest reading is from 2019, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

What is hard here

Only 3 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish.

Where this data comes from

  • Minnesota DNR — Minnesota DNR: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Minnesota DNR — Minnesota DNR: reported depths: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map, 2007.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.