Bear Head Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Brook Trout, Largemouth Bass

Target species: Northern Pike, Brook Trout, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Sucker, Black Crappie, Bluegill
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Bear Head Lake Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Bear Head Lake covers 649 acres in Minnesota, across St. Louis County. It is a lake: 91.1% of it is 28 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 40 feet (12.2 m). Our records hold 10 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Northern Pike

  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Brook Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed.

Rowboat in the snow - Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota (26920219958).jpg
Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States · CC BY 2.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 40 ft (12.2 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.1% of the water is 28 feet or shallower. We hold 85 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 9.3% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 10.4% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 10.1% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 8.5% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 6.5% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 5.1% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 5.1% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 8.6% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 9% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 3.3% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 2.4% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 2.2% of the water
  • 28–30 ft: 2.7% of the water
  • 30–32 ft: 2.3% of the water
  • 32–34 ft: 1.6% of the water
  • 34–36 ft: 1% of the water
  • 36–38 ft: 0.5% of the water
  • 38–40 ft: 0.9% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 64°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 43°F and the warmest is 76°F; the warmest monthly average is 73°F. pH averages 7.7. These readings span 2016–2025.

Bear Head Lake Steam Fog - Minnesota (37404148092).jpg
Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

  • Bear Head Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.

The place listed has no fee or opening hours on file: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

What is hard here

Only 1 public ramp is 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.