Jessie Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Burbot, White Sucker, Black Crappie
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Jessie Lake Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Jessie Lake covers 1,743 acres in Minnesota, across Itasca County. It is a lake: 99.3% of it is 36 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 40 feet (12.2 m). Our records hold 14 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.
  • Burbot — Feeding water: 40–50°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.

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

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 40 ft (12.2 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 99.3% of the water is 36 feet or shallower. We hold 49 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 4.3% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 4.4% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 3.9% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 3.7% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 3.6% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 3.8% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 2.9% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 3.4% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 4% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 3.4% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 5% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 4.7% of the water
  • 28–30 ft: 8.9% of the water
  • 30–32 ft: 11.9% of the water
  • 32–34 ft: 12% of the water
  • 34–36 ft: 14.2% of the water
  • 36–38 ft: 0.7% of the water
  • 38–40 ft: 0.1% of the water

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 5.2–15.3 feet on our readings, averaging 9.5 feet, from 118 readings. Our water temperature readings average 68°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.5. These readings span 2017–2025.

Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP 2021
USDA Farm Service Agency, NAIP 2021 aerial imagery (USGS The National Map) · Public domain

2 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps.

  • Jessie Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Little Jessie Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. U.S. Forest Service. website fs.usda.gov/recarea/chippewa/recarea/?recid=26804 · hours: Open 24 hours/day

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 2 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 2 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.