Big Sand Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Rock Bass
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Big Sand Lake Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Big Sand Lake covers 1,629 acres in Minnesota, across Hubbard County. It is a lake: 90.1% of it is 90 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 130 feet (39.6 m). Our records hold 15 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 130 ft (39.6 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 90.1% of the water is 90 feet or shallower. We hold 64 depth contour lines for this water.

Perseid meteor showers, satellites & Milky Way at Big Sand Lake, MN (28338676773).jpg
Lorie Shaull from St Paul, United States · CC BY 2.0
  • 0–10 ft: 18% of the water
  • 10–20 ft: 10.8% of the water
  • 20–30 ft: 11.9% of the water
  • 30–40 ft: 11.6% of the water
  • 40–50 ft: 9.5% of the water
  • 50–60 ft: 7.8% of the water
  • 60–70 ft: 7.4% of the water
  • 70–80 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 80–90 ft: 5.2% of the water
  • 90–100 ft: 4.7% of the water
  • 100–110 ft: 2.5% of the water
  • 110–120 ft: 1.3% of the water
  • 120–130 ft: 1.6% of the water

7 target fish, led by Northern Pike

  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.

Also recorded here: Bluegill, White Sucker, Black Crappie, Cisco, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead.

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 17–30 feet on our readings, averaging 23.4 feet, from 427 readings. Our water temperature readings average 71°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.5. These readings span 2016–2025.

Perseid meteor showers & Milky Way at Big Sand Lake, MN (28336052674).jpg
Lorie Shaull from St Paul, United States · CC BY 2.0

2 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps.

  • Big Sand Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Lake Emma Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. Hubbard 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.

Perseid meteor showers & Milky Way at Big Sand Lake, MN (28336107384).jpg
Lorie Shaull from St Paul, United States · CC BY 2.0

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.