Okabena Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Freshwater Drum, Black Bullhead, Bigmouth Buffalo, Channel Catfish
Boat: 4 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Okabena Lake (W) Public Water Access Site, 2 lanes.

The lake

Okabena Lake covers 800 acres in Minnesota, across Nobles County. It is a lake: 91.1% of it is 8 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 15 feet (4.6 m). Our records hold 18 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.
  • Freshwater Drum — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Black Bullhead — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • Bigmouth Buffalo — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Shortnose Gar, White Sucker, Black Crappie, White Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Orangespotted Sunfish, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 15 ft (4.6 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.1% of the water is 8 feet or shallower. We hold 49 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 8.5% of the water
  • 4–5 ft: 6.7% of the water
  • 5–6 ft: 8.3% of the water
  • 6–7 ft: 23.6% of the water
  • 7–8 ft: 41.4% of the water
  • 8–9 ft: 5.5% of the water
  • 9–11 ft: 2.8% of the water
  • 11–13 ft: 0.6% of the water

4 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 4 trailer ramps.

Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP 2021
USDA Farm Service Agency, NAIP 2021 aerial imagery (USGS The National Map) · Public domain
  • Okabena Lake (W) Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms.
  • Okabena Lake (E) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane.
  • Okabena Lake (N) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane.
  • Okabena Lake (S) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane.

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.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 68°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.4. These readings span 2020–2025.

What is hard here

With 91.1% of the water 8 feet or less, low level turns the flats into hazards.

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.