Big Birch Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
Boat: 5 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Big Birch Lake (N) Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Big Birch Lake covers 2,091 acres in Minnesota, across 2 counties: Todd and Stearns. It is a lake: 91.3% of it is 45 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 80 feet (24.4 m). Our records hold 17 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 80 ft (24.4 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.3% of the water is 45 feet or shallower. We hold 83 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–5 ft: 9% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 10.4% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 9.2% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 9.8% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 10.2% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 12% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 11.7% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 11.7% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 7.3% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 1.6% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 1.3% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 0.7% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 0.5% of the water

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.

Also recorded here: Pumpkinseed, Black Bullhead, White Sucker, Cisco, Rock Bass, Green Sunfish, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 8–21 feet on our readings, averaging 14.3 feet, from 2,406 readings. 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 47°F and the warmest is 87°F; the warmest monthly average is 77°F. pH averages 8.4. These readings span 2017–2025.

Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP 2021
USDA Farm Service Agency, NAIP 2021 aerial imagery (USGS The National Map) · Public domain

5 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 5 trailer ramps.

  • Big Birch Lake (N) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Big Birch Lake (SE) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. Millwood Township.
  • Big Birch Lake, Hunters Bay Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Big Birch Lake, State Forest Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Stundabecks Bay Access Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. Millwood Township.

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 5 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.

What is hard here

Only 5 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.