Rice Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye
Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Bigmouth Buffalo, Channel Catfish, Golden Redhorse
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Rice Lake (S) Public Water Access Site, 2 lanes.
The lake
Rice Lake covers 1,515 acres in Minnesota, across Stearns County. It is a lake: 92% of it is 32 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 40 feet (12.2 m). Our records hold 20 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.
- Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
- Golden Redhorse — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
Also recorded here: Black Bullhead, Shorthead Redhorse, White Sucker, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: at least 40 ft (12.2 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 92% of the water is 32 feet or shallower. We hold 97 depth contour lines for this water.
- 0–2 ft: 6.3% of the water
- 2–4 ft: 7.5% of the water
- 4–6 ft: 8.3% of the water
- 6–8 ft: 8.9% of the water
- 8–10 ft: 13% of the water
- 10–12 ft: 9.7% of the water
- 12–14 ft: 3.6% of the water
- 14–16 ft: 3.1% of the water
- 16–18 ft: 3% of the water
- 18–20 ft: 2.8% of the water
- 20–22 ft: 2.9% of the water
- 22–24 ft: 3.1% of the water
- 24–26 ft: 3.8% of the water
- 26–28 ft: 4% of the water
- 28–30 ft: 4.8% of the water
- 30–32 ft: 7.2% of the water
- 32–34 ft: 3.4% of the water
- 34–36 ft: 3.9% of the water
- 36–38 ft: 0.8% of the water
- 38–40 ft: 0.3% of the water
Water and conditions
Water clarity runs 2–8.9 feet on our readings, averaging 4.5 feet, from 233 readings. Our water temperature readings average 72°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.4. These readings span 2017–2025.
2 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps.
- Rice Lake (S) Public Water Access Site — 2 lanes, restrooms. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.
- Rice Lake (N) Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms. 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.
What is hard here
Clarity swings from 2 to 8.9 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.
