Kabetogama Lake fishing: Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye

Target species: Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Largemouth Bass, Sauger, Yellow Perch, Burbot
Boat: 4 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Kabetogama Lake (E) Ash River Visitor Center Public Water Access Site, 2 lanes.

The lake

Kabetogama Lake covers 22,350 acres in Minnesota, across 2 counties: St. Louis and Koochiching. It is a lake: 90.6% of it is 45 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 75 feet (22.9 m). Our records hold 13 species for this water.

Kabetogama Lake (54789364174).jpg
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 75 ft (22.9 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 90.6% of the water is 45 feet or shallower. We hold 560 depth contour lines for this water.

Kabetogama Lake (54789122586).jpg
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain
  • 0–5 ft: 11.6% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 7.3% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 6.4% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 7% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 8.5% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 11.3% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 14.7% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 15.8% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 8% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 4.9% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 2.9% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 1.6% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 0.1% of the water

7 target fish, led by Smallmouth Bass

  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Sauger — Feeding water: 45–65°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • Burbot — Feeding water: 40–50°F.

Also recorded here: Lake Whitefish, White Sucker, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Rock Bass, Pumpkinseed.

Kabetogama Lake (54789498670).jpg
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 68°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2017–2023.

4 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 4 trailer ramps.

  • Kabetogama Lake (E) Ash River Visitor Center Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. National Park Service.
  • Kabetogama Lake (NE), Wooden Frog Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Kabetogama Lake (SW) Kabetogama Visitor Center Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. National Park Service.
  • Kabetogama Lake (N) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. St. Louis County.

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: 22,350 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.
  • 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.