Lake Minnewaska fishing: Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Bigmouth Buffalo, Channel Catfish
Boat: 3 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Minnewaska Lake (N) Public Water Access Site, 2 lanes.

The lake

Lake Minnewaska covers 8,011 acres in Minnesota, across Pope County. It is a lake: 91.3% of it is 26 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 30 feet (9.1 m). Our records hold 19 species for this water.

City of Glenwood, Minnesota - Lake Minnewaska Beach (37603232850).jpg
Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Bigmouth Buffalo — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

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

Lake Minnewaska in Aug - panoramio.jpg
Jimmy Selix · CC BY-SA 3.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 30 ft (9.1 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.3% of the water is 26 feet or shallower. We hold 46 depth contour lines for this water.

Lake Minnewaska from the park - panoramio.jpg
Jimmy Selix · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • 0–2 ft: 9.6% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 4.6% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 4.4% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 4.2% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 4.2% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 5% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 8% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 13.2% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 10% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 10.9% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 4% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 7.4% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 8.1% of the water
  • 28–30 ft: 0.7% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 70°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 50°F and the warmest is 82°F; the warmest monthly average is 78°F. pH averages 8.4. These readings span 2016–2025.

3 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 3 trailer ramps.

  • Minnewaska Lake (N) Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Minnewaska Lake (NE) Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. City.
  • Minnewaska Lake (NW) Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes.

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

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 8,011 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.