Detroit Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Northern Pike

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Black Crappie, Bluegill
Boat: 3 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Detroit Lake-North, 2 lanes.

The lake

Detroit Lake covers 3,192 acres in Minnesota, across Becker County. It is a lake: 93.9% of it is 35 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 80 feet (24.4 m). Our records hold 17 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 80 ft (24.4 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 93.9% of the water is 35 feet or shallower. We hold 49 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–5 ft: 23.1% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 23.1% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 16.3% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 10.5% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 7.7% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 8.4% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 1.5% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 1.2% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 1.2% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 0.9% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 0.6% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 0.3% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 0.3% of the water
  • 70–75 ft: 0.2% of the water

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Rock Bass, Black Bullhead, White Sucker, Cisco, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 69°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 44°F and the warmest is 82°F; the warmest monthly average is 74°F. pH averages 8.3. These readings span 2017–2025.

South Shore of Detroit Lake, Minnesota mid July 2022.jpg
Richard N Horne · CC BY-SA 4.0

3 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 3 trailer ramps and 1 shore access point.

  • Detroit Lake-North — 2 lanes. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Detroit Lake (NW) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane.
  • Detroit Lake (S) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.

Shore access for bank fishing

  • Detroit Lake (NE) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane.

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.

What is hard here

Only 3 public ramps are 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.