Cross Lake fishing: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass

Target species: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Shorthead Redhorse, Bigmouth Buffalo
Best months: Jun, Aug, Sep for Muskellunge
Second window: May, Jun, Sep, Oct for Northern Pike
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Cross Lake Public Water Access Site, 2 lanes.

The lake

Cross Lake covers 1,126 acres in Minnesota, across Pine County. It is a lake: 94.8% of it is 24 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 30 feet (9.1 m). Our records hold 27 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Muskellunge

  • Muskellunge — Best months: Jun, Aug, Sep.
  • Northern Pike — Best months: May, Jun, Sep, Oct.
  • Largemouth Bass — Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
  • Walleye — Best months: May, Jun, Sep, Oct.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Best months: Jun, Aug, Sep.
  • Shorthead Redhorse — Best months: Jun, Aug, Sep.
  • Bigmouth Buffalo — Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug.

Also recorded here: Channel Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Burbot, Golden Redhorse, Black Bullhead, Silver Redhorse, White Sucker, Northern Hog Sucker, White Bass, Black Crappie, White Crappie, Bluegill, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.

Private pier at Cross Lake, Shreveport, LA IMG 1351.JPG
Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 30 ft (9.1 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 94.8% of the water is 24 feet or shallower. We hold 88 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 18.7% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 4.7% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 5.4% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 6.6% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 9% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 6.8% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 7.3% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 9.4% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 6.9% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 6.2% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 8.8% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 5% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 1.7% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 2.1% of the water
  • 28–30 ft: 1.5% of the water

Water and conditions

Water temperature averages 60°F across the year. pH averages 7.6. These readings span 2016–2025.

Cross Lake at Ford Park IMG 1348.JPG
Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

2 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps.

  • Cross Lake Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Snake River, Cross Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.

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.

Cross Lake near Ford Park, Shreveport, LA IMG 1349.JPG
Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

What is hard here

Only 2 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish. Winter water drops to 33°F, and the warm-water species stop feeding well before you do.

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.