Crystal Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Black Bullhead, White Sucker, Black Crappie
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Crystal Lake Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Crystal Lake covers 1,397 acres in Minnesota, across Otter Tail County. It is a lake: 90.9% of it is 33 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 50 feet (15.2 m). Our records hold 16 species for this 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.
  • Black Bullhead — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.

Also recorded here: Bluegill, Cisco, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 50 ft (15.2 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 90.9% of the water is 33 feet or shallower. We hold 43 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–3 ft: 19% of the water
  • 3–6 ft: 9.8% of the water
  • 6–9 ft: 8.2% of the water
  • 9–12 ft: 6.6% of the water
  • 12–15 ft: 5.7% of the water
  • 15–18 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 18–21 ft: 6.1% of the water
  • 21–24 ft: 5% of the water
  • 24–27 ft: 5.9% of the water
  • 27–30 ft: 8.1% of the water
  • 30–33 ft: 10.7% of the water
  • 33–36 ft: 6.6% of the water
  • 36–39 ft: 2% of the water
  • 39–42 ft: 0.3% of the water
  • 42–45 ft: 0.1% of the water

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

  • Crystal Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.

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.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 74°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.6. These readings span 2017–2023.

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.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: 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.