Pickerel Lake fishing: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass

Target species: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Bluegill, Rock Bass, Black Bullhead
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Pickerel Lake Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Pickerel Lake covers 319 acres in Minnesota, across Becker County. It is a lake: 92.1% of it is 34 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 40 feet (12.2 m). Our records hold 13 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Muskellunge

  • Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Black Bullhead — Feeding water: 70–80°F.

Also recorded here: White Sucker, Black Crappie, Yellow Perch, Pumpkinseed, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead.

Down Pickerel Lake (2688615207).jpg
Derek Hatfield from Peterborough, Canada · CC BY 2.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 40 ft (12.2 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 92.1% of the water is 34 feet or shallower. We hold 59 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 3.1% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 5.1% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 6.3% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 5.7% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 5.4% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 5.7% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 6% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 6.1% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 5.9% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 5.4% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 4.6% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 5.3% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 5.3% of the water
  • 28–30 ft: 6.1% of the water
  • 30–32 ft: 5.7% of the water
  • 32–34 ft: 4.6% of the water
  • 34–36 ft: 5.5% of the water
  • 36–38 ft: 2% of the water
  • 38–40 ft: 0.6% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 72°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.5. These readings span 2017–2025.

Pickerel Lake (1).jpg
Gpwitteveen · CC BY-SA 3.0

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

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

The place listed has no fee or opening hours on file: 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

Only 1 public ramp is 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.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: 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.