Big Sandy Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Bigmouth Buffalo, Channel Catfish
Boat: 4 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Big Sandy Lake (E) Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Big Sandy Lake covers 6,149 acres in Minnesota, across Aitkin County. It is a lake: 91.5% of it is 30 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 80 feet (24.4 m). Our records hold 20 species for this water.

Islands on Big Sandy Lake reflected in the water at sunrise in McGregor, Minnesota (53334854858).jpg
Lorie Shaull from St Paul, United States · CC BY 2.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 80 ft (24.4 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.5% of the water is 30 feet or shallower. We hold 126 depth contour lines for this water.

Big Sandy Lake sunset.jpg
Lorie Shaull · CC BY 2.0
  • 0–5 ft: 18.7% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 19.5% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 14.8% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 16.4% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 15.5% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 6.6% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 2.8% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 1.5% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 0.8% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 0.6% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 0.4% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 0.4% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 0.4% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 0.8% of the water
  • 70–75 ft: 0.9% of the water
  • 75–80 ft: 0.1% of the 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.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • Bigmouth Buffalo — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Burbot, Black Bullhead, Shorthead Redhorse, Silver Redhorse, White Sucker, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Cisco, Rock Bass, Pumpkinseed, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead.

First snow from above at Big Sandy Lake in McGregor (3).jpg
Lorie Shaull · CC BY 2.0

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 3–5.6 feet on our readings, averaging 4.2 feet, from 809 readings. Our water temperature readings average 73°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 38°F and the warmest is 88°F; the warmest monthly average is 76°F. pH averages 8.3. These readings span 2016–2025.

4 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 4 trailer ramps.

  • Big Sandy Lake (E) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Big Sandy Lake (N) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  • Big Sandy Lake (S Central) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. Shamrock Township.
  • Sandy River, Dam Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 4 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

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 6,149 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle.

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.