Bear Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

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

The lake

Bear Lake covers 346 acres in Minnesota, across Itasca County. It is a lake: the deepest point measured is at least 15 feet (4.6 m). Our records hold 10 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.
  • Black Bullhead — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, Pumpkinseed.

A Spin At Sunset, White Bear Lake, Near St. Paul, Minn (NBY 428964).jpg
Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 15 ft (4.6 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. We hold 24 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 3.8% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 8.1% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 8% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 8% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 8.9% of the water
  • 10–11 ft: 5.1% of the water
  • 11–12 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 12–13 ft: 6.8% of the water
  • 13–14 ft: 8.8% of the water
  • 14–15 ft: 36.6% of the water

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

  • Bear Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Forestry.

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.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 67°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.3. These readings span 2018–2019. The latest reading is from 2019, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

Yacht Racing, White Bear Lake (Near St. Paul, Minn.) (NBY 428882).jpg
Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain

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.