Bear Island Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye
Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Burbot, White Sucker, Black Crappie
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Bear Island Lake (NE) Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.
The lake
Bear Island Lake covers 2,322 acres in Minnesota, across St. Louis County. It is a lake: 94.9% of it is 51 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 60 feet (18.3 m). Our records hold 13 species for this water.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: at least 60 ft (18.3 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 94.9% of the water is 51 feet or shallower. We hold 127 depth contour lines for this water.
- 0–3 ft: 6.3% of the water
- 3–6 ft: 7.7% of the water
- 6–9 ft: 8.1% of the water
- 9–12 ft: 9.1% of the water
- 12–15 ft: 8.4% of the water
- 15–18 ft: 5.8% of the water
- 18–21 ft: 5.5% of the water
- 21–24 ft: 4.9% of the water
- 24–27 ft: 4.8% of the water
- 27–30 ft: 4% of the water
- 30–33 ft: 3.8% of the water
- 33–36 ft: 3.5% of the water
- 36–39 ft: 4.6% of the water
- 39–42 ft: 5.5% of the water
- 42–45 ft: 4.5% of the water
- 45–48 ft: 3.3% of the water
- 48–51 ft: 5.1% of the water
- 51–54 ft: 1.9% of the water
- 54–57 ft: 1.4% of the water
- 57–60 ft: 1.8% 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.
- White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
- Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
Also recorded here: Bluegill, Cisco, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, Pumpkinseed, Yellow Bullhead.
2 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps.
- Bear Island Lake (NE) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. St. Louis County.
- Bear Island Lake (S) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. St. Louis County.
Fee and opening hours are blank for all 2 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 5.8–8.5 feet on our readings, averaging 7 feet, from 59 readings. Our water temperature readings average 68°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 6.9. These readings span 2019–2025.
What is hard here
Only 2 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.
