Birch Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass

Target species: Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Rock Bass, White Sucker, Black Crappie
Boat: 4 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Birch Lake (S) Public Water Access Site, 2 lanes.

The lake

Birch Lake covers 7,337 acres in Minnesota, across 2 counties: St. Louis and Lake. It is a lake: 94.7% of it is 26 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 30 feet (9.1 m). Our records hold 9 species for this water.

Ice Road on Frozen Birch Lake - Babbitt, Northern Minnesota (26920216508).jpg
Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States · CC BY 2.0

7 target fish, led by Northern Pike

  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°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.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.

Also recorded here: Bluegill, Cisco.

Birch Lake sunset (30420705622).jpg
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 30 ft (9.1 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 94.7% of the water is 26 feet or shallower. We hold 341 depth contour lines for this water.

Birch-Lake.jpg
SriMesh · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • 0–2 ft: 21.2% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 3.5% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 4% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 4.5% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 5.1% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 5.7% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 6.5% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 10.3% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 7.5% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 7.4% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 9.4% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 4.5% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 5.1% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 4.5% of the water
  • 28–30 ft: 1% of the water

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 3–5.6 feet on our readings, averaging 4.1 feet, from 454 readings. Our water temperature readings average 66°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 41°F and the warmest is 80°F; the warmest monthly average is 72°F. pH averages 7.2. These readings span 2017–2025.

4 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 4 trailer ramps and 1 shore access point.

  • Birch Lake (S) Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes.
  • Birch Lake (NE) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. U.S. Forest Service. website fs.usda.gov/recarea/superior/recreation/recarea/?recid=37033 · hours: Open 24 hours/day
  • Birch Lake (W) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • South Fork Kawishiwi River (S) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. U.S. Forest Service. website fs.usda.gov/recarea/superior/recreation/recarea/?recid=37077 · hours: Open 24 hours/day

Shore access for bank fishing

  • Birch Lake, Hwy 1 Public Water Access Site — Lake County.

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 5 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: 7,337 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.
  • 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.