Pelican Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

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

The lake

Pelican Lake covers 3,730 acres in Minnesota, across 2 counties: Grant and Douglas. It is a lake: 91.9% of it is 17 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 20 feet (6.1 m). Our records hold 16 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.
  • Bigmouth Buffalo — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • Black Bullhead — Feeding water: 70–80°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.

Also recorded here: Black Crappie, White Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.

Gfp-minnesota-voyaguers-national-park-pelican-lake-to-the-other-shore.jpg
Yinan Chen · Public Domain

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 20 ft (6.1 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.9% of the water is 17 feet or shallower. We hold 139 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–1 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 1–3 ft: 7.7% of the water
  • 3–5 ft: 8.1% of the water
  • 5–7 ft: 9.9% of the water
  • 7–8 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 8–9 ft: 8.2% of the water
  • 9–11 ft: 9.3% of the water
  • 11–12 ft: 5.3% of the water
  • 12–13 ft: 5% of the water
  • 13–14 ft: 6.1% of the water
  • 14–15 ft: 5.5% of the water
  • 15–16 ft: 5.9% of the water
  • 16–17 ft: 5.1% of the water
  • 17–19 ft: 5.7% of the water
  • 19–20 ft: 2.6% of the water

2 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps.

  • Christina Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
  • Pelican Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.

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.

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 2–6.2 feet on our readings, averaging 3.4 feet, from 41 readings. Our water temperature readings average 73°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.7. These readings span 2017–2018. The latest reading is from 2018, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

What is hard here

Clarity swings from 2 to 6.2 feet between our readings — the water you meet is not the water someone photographed. 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.