Big Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Black Crappie

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed
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 512 acres in Minnesota, across Carlton County. It is a lake: 91.3% of it is 17 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 20 feet (6.1 m). Our records hold 8 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.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • Green Sunfish — Feeding water: 65–80°F.
  • Pumpkinseed — Feeding water: 65–80°F.

Also recorded here: Brown Bullhead.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 20 ft (6.1 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.3% of the water is 17 feet or shallower. We hold 57 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 8% of the water
  • 2–3 ft: 6.4% of the water
  • 3–4 ft: 7.4% of the water
  • 4–5 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 5–6 ft: 9.6% of the water
  • 6–7 ft: 9.6% of the water
  • 7–8 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 8–9 ft: 6.8% of the water
  • 9–10 ft: 8.5% of the water
  • 10–11 ft: 5.9% of the water
  • 11–13 ft: 5.2% of the water
  • 13–15 ft: 5.2% of the water
  • 15–17 ft: 3.2% of the water
  • 17–19 ft: 2.5% of the water
  • 19–20 ft: 6.2% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 62°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 77°F; the warmest monthly average is 73°F. pH averages 7.4. These readings span 2016–2025.

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

  • Big 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.