Bass Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Burbot, Black Bullhead, White Sucker
Boat: 3 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Bass Lake (NE) Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Bass Lake covers 2,662 acres in Minnesota, across Itasca County. It is a lake: 90.6% of it is 60 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 70 feet (21.3 m). Our records hold 17 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 70 ft (21.3 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 90.6% of the water is 60 feet or shallower. We hold 53 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–5 ft: 31.8% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 10.3% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 10.2% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 9.3% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 9.8% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 3.8% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 2.9% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 2% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 1.9% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 2% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 4% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 2.4% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 7.1% of the 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.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Burbot — Feeding water: 40–50°F.
  • Black Bullhead — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.

Also recorded here: Black Crappie, Bluegill, Cisco, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead.

3 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 3 trailer ramps.

  • Bass Lake (NE) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. Itasca County.
  • Bass Lake (SW) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Bass Lake (W) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. 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

Water clarity runs 10.5–15.1 feet on our readings, averaging 13.1 feet, from 110 readings. Our water temperature readings average 70°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2016–2025.

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.
  • 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.