Dead Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Black Bullhead, White Sucker, Black Crappie
Boat: 4 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Dead Lake (N) Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Dead Lake covers 7,442 acres in Minnesota, across Otter Tail County. It is a lake: 90.7% of it is 18 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 60 feet (18.3 m). Our records hold 17 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 60 ft (18.3 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 90.7% of the water is 18 feet or shallower. We hold 122 depth contour lines for this water.

Dead Lake Township, Minnesota.jpg
Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • 0–3 ft: 20.9% of the water
  • 3–6 ft: 13.3% of the water
  • 6–9 ft: 14.5% of the water
  • 9–12 ft: 27.7% of the water
  • 12–15 ft: 7% of the water
  • 15–18 ft: 7.3% of the water
  • 18–21 ft: 2.7% of the water
  • 21–24 ft: 1.9% of the water
  • 24–27 ft: 1.1% of the water
  • 27–30 ft: 0.7% of the water
  • 30–33 ft: 0.6% of the water
  • 33–36 ft: 0.6% of the water
  • 36–39 ft: 0.8% of the water
  • 39–42 ft: 0.6% of the water
  • 42–45 ft: 0.1% of the water
  • 45–48 ft: 0.1% of the water
  • 48–51 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.
  • 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, Common Carp.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 70°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2017–2025.

Dead Lake, Minnesota
Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0

4 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 4 trailer ramps.

  • Dead Lake (N) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. Dead Lake Township.
  • Dead Lake (SE) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Dead Lake (SW) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Dead Lake WMA Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife.

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.

Dead Lake, Minnesota
Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0

What is hard here

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 7,442 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.