Gull Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Muskellunge, Walleye, Bluegill, Rock Bass
Boat: 3 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Gull Lake (E) Public Water Access Site, 2 lanes.

The lake

Gull Lake covers 9,936 acres in Minnesota, across 2 counties: Cass and Crow Wing. It is a lake: 93.8% of it is 65 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 80 feet (24.4 m). Our records hold 20 species for this water.

Gull Lake sunset.JPG
Onorem · CC BY-SA 3.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 80 ft (24.4 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 93.8% of the water is 65 feet or shallower. We hold 191 depth contour lines for this water.

Gull Lake Again.JPG
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • 0–5 ft: 19% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 5.6% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 5% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 5% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 6% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 6.4% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 6% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 6.7% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 10.8% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 70–75 ft: 1.2% of the water
  • 75–80 ft: 0.3% of the water

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

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

Also recorded here: Yellow Perch, Pumpkinseed, Burbot, Black Bullhead, Shorthead Redhorse, White Sucker, Black Crappie, Cisco, Green Sunfish, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.

Gull Lake MN.JPG
Zhans33 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 10.5–18.4 feet on our readings, averaging 14.9 feet, from 136 readings. Our water temperature readings average 70°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.4. These readings span 2017–2025.

3 ramps and launches on this water

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

  • Gull Lake (E) Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Gull Lake, Government Point Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  • Gull Lake, Gull Narrows Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.

Shore access for bank fishing

  • Gull River Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 9,936 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.