Pelican Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Pumpkinseed, Bluegill, Rock Bass
Boat: 5 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Boat ramp — Pelican Lake, 2 lanes.

The lake

Pelican Lake covers 8,424 acres in Minnesota, across Crow Wing County. It is a lake: 91% of it is 50 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 100 feet (30.5 m). Our records hold 16 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 100 ft (30.5 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91% of the water is 50 feet or shallower. We hold 170 depth contour lines for this water.

Gfp-minnesota-voyaguers-national-park-shoreline-of-pelican-lake.jpg
Yinan Chen · Public Domain
  • 0–5 ft: 21.3% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 13.6% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 9.9% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 9.5% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 9.7% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 8.7% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 8.7% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 2.7% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 2.1% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 1.8% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 1.4% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 1.2% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 1.4% of the water
  • 70–75 ft: 1% of the water
  • 75–80 ft: 1% of the water
  • 80–85 ft: 0.7% of the water
  • 85–90 ft: 0.4% of the water
  • 90–95 ft: 0.1% of the water
  • 95–100 ft: 0.1% of the water

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Pumpkinseed — Feeding water: 65–80°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.

Also recorded here: Black Bullhead, White Sucker, Black Crappie, Cisco, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead.

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 8.2. These readings span 2017–2025.

Gfp-minnesota-voyaguers-national-park-pelican-lake-view.jpg
Yinan Chen · Public Domain

5 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 5 trailer ramps and 1 shore access point.

  • Pelican Lake, Halverson Bay Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Pelican Lake, Jones Bay Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. Crow Wing County.
  • Little Pelican Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Pelican Lake (NW) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms.
  • Boat ramp — Pelican Lake — 2 lanes.

Shore access for bank fishing

Gfp-minnesota-voyaguers-national-park-pelican-lake-to-the-other-shore.jpg
Yinan Chen · Public Domain
  • Pelican Lake, South, Public Water Access Site — Crow Wing County.

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 6 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: 8,424 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.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map, 2007.
  • 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.