Forest Lake fishing: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass

Target species: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Black Bullhead, White Sucker, Black Crappie
Boat: 3 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Forest Lake, #1 Lakeside Park Public Water Access Site, 2 lanes.

The lake

Forest Lake covers 2,277 acres in Minnesota, across Washington County. It is a lake: 91.9% of it is 22 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 35 feet (10.7 m). Our records hold 17 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Muskellunge

  • Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°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: White Crappie, Bluegill, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.

Forest Lake Rest Area (I-35), Minnesota (47061446722).jpg
Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 35 ft (10.7 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.9% of the water is 22 feet or shallower. We hold 77 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 14.5% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 10.4% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 10.5% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 7.8% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 8% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 7.8% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 7.2% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 9.1% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 8.5% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 2.3% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 1.7% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 1.5% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 1.4% of the water
  • 28–30 ft: 1.5% of the water
  • 30–32 ft: 1.2% of the water
  • 32–34 ft: 0.7% of the water

Water and conditions

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 43°F and the warmest is 85°F; the warmest monthly average is 77°F. pH averages 8.5. These readings span 2016–2024.

3 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 3 trailer ramps.

  • Forest Lake, #1 Lakeside Park Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes.
  • Forest Lake, #2 Willow Point Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Forest Lake, #3 Hagberg Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 3 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.