Big Trout Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye
Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rock Bass, Lake Trout
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Big Trout Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.
The lake
Big Trout Lake covers 1,368 acres in Minnesota, across Crow Wing County. It is a lake: 93.5% of it is 110 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 120 feet (36.6 m). Our records hold 18 species for this water.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: at least 120 ft (36.6 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 93.5% of the water is 110 feet or shallower. We hold 39 depth contour lines for this water.
- 0–10 ft: 22.4% of the water
- 10–20 ft: 9.2% of the water
- 20–30 ft: 8.6% of the water
- 30–40 ft: 6.7% of the water
- 40–50 ft: 6.7% of the water
- 50–60 ft: 7.8% of the water
- 60–70 ft: 8.8% of the water
- 70–80 ft: 8% of the water
- 80–90 ft: 4.7% of the water
- 90–100 ft: 4.7% of the water
- 100–110 ft: 5.9% of the water
- 110–120 ft: 6.7% 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.
- Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
- Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
- Lake Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
Also recorded here: Lake Whitefish, Shorthead Redhorse, White Sucker, Black Crappie, Cisco, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead.
Water and conditions
Water clarity runs 13.1–19.9 feet on our readings, averaging 16.2 feet, from 75 readings. Our water temperature readings average 67°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 42°F and the warmest is 80°F; the warmest monthly average is 76°F. pH averages 8.4. These readings span 2017–2025.
1 ramp or launch on this water
On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.
- Big Trout Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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.
