Big Lake fishing: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass

Lake · Minnesota · Andrusia, 2.8 mi away

Big Lake, Minnesota: Muskellunge. 94% of it is 30 feet deep or less. 1 trailer ramp. At least 35 ft deep.

Lake

Surface area: 3,558 acres5.6 mi²from the mapped waterbody polygon; varies with water level
Maximum depth: 35 ftdeep
Fish species: 16
Access points: 1
Access: open to the public
Nearest town: Andrusia2.8 mi

Water claritynow 13.5 ft

Big Lake fishing: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass

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

The lake

Big Lake covers 3,558 acres in Minnesota, across Beltrami County. It is a lake: 94% of it is 30 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 35 feet (10.7 m). Our records hold 16 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Muskellunge

Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
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.
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, Pumpkinseed, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 35 ft (10.7 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 94% of the water is 30 feet or shallower. We hold 70 depth contour lines for this water.

0–2 ft: 16.1% of the water
2–4 ft: 9.3% of the water
4–6 ft: 7.7% of the water
6–8 ft: 6.2% of the water
8–10 ft: 5.4% of the water
10–12 ft: 6.1% of the water
12–14 ft: 4.5% of the water
14–16 ft: 4% of the water
16–18 ft: 3% of the water
18–20 ft: 3.3% of the water
20–22 ft: 4.3% of the water
22–24 ft: 4.3% of the water
24–26 ft: 7.2% of the water
26–28 ft: 5.3% of the water
28–30 ft: 7.3% of the water
30–32 ft: 4.5% of the water
32–34 ft: 1.2% of the water
34–35 ft: 0.4% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 69°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 51°F and the warmest is 82°F; the warmest monthly average is 75°F. pH averages 8.3. These readings span 2017–2025.

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

Big Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. U.S. Forest Service. website fs.usda.gov/recarea/chippewa/recarea/?recid=26646 · hours: Open 24 hours/day

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.