Lake	County	Acres	Max depth	Score
St. Louis River Estuarynear Duluth	St. Louis	10,255	55 ft	82 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake St. Croixnear Stillwater	Washington	8,393	78 ft	83 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Pepinnear Lake City	Goodhue	12,299	60 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
Leech Lakenear Walker	Cass	103,444	150 ft	92 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake of the Woodsnear Long Point	Lake of the Woods	725,583	210 ft	84 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Vermilionnear Tower	St. Louis	39,272	76 ft	80 out of 100 Lake Score
Mille Lacs Lakenear Garrison	Mille Lacs	128,250	42 ft	81 out of 100 Lake Score
Cross Lakenear Pine City	Pine	925	30 ft	54 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Kabetogamanear Ray	St. Louis	24,034	80 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
Pokegama Lakenear Pine City	Pine	1,521	25 ft	58 out of 100 Lake Score
Cass Lakenear Cass Lake	Beltrami	15,958	120 ft	92 out of 100 Lake Score
Rainy Lakenear International Falls	St. Louis	210,200	161 ft	89 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Winnibigoshishnear Bena	Cass	56,471	70 ft	79 out of 100 Lake Score
Pike Baynear Cass Lake	Cass	4,756	95 ft	78 out of 100 Lake Score
Deer Lakenear Deer River	Itasca	4,093	121 ft	72 out of 100 Lake Score
Gull Lakenear Nisswa	Cass	10,010	80 ft	90 out of 100 Lake Score
Kabekona Lakenear Laporte	Hubbard	2,433	133 ft	68 out of 100 Lake Score
Whitefish Lakenear Cross Lake	Crow Wing	7,714	138 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
U.S. Lock & Dam #5 Poolnear Weaver	Wabasha	6,326	—	44 out of 100 Lake Score
Green Lakenear Spicer	Kandiyohi	5,569	110 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Woman Lakenear Longville	Cass	5,520	54 ft	72 out of 100 Lake Score
Island Lake Reservoirnear Duluth	St. Louis	8,001	94 ft	58 out of 100 Lake Score
Namakan Lakenear Ray	St. Louis	24,066	150 ft	71 out of 100 Lake Score
Moose Lakenear Deer River	Itasca	1,273	61 ft	67 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Minnetonkanear Mound	Hennepin	14,206	113 ft	85 out of 100 Lake Score
Detroit Lakenear Detroit Lakes	Becker	3,067	89 ft	85 out of 100 Lake Score
Otter Tail Lakenear Ottertail	Otter Tail	14,079	120 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Stone Lakenear Ortonville	Big Stone	11,984	16 ft	77 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Traversenear Browns Valley	Traverse	10,849	12 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Pokegama Lakenear Grand Rapids	Itasca	6,721	112 ft	86 out of 100 Lake Score
Upper Red Lakenear Waskish	Beltrami	119,294	15 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
Crane Lakenear Crane Lake	St. Louis	2,921	80 ft	68 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Miltonanear Leaf Valley	Douglas	5,731	105 ft	83 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Bemidjinear Lavinia (Beltrami)	Beltrami	6,596	76 ft	82 out of 100 Lake Score
Round Lakenear Nisswa	Crow Wing	1,650	51 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
Ten Mile Lakenear Hackensack	Cass	5,080	208 ft	73 out of 100 Lake Score
Turtle Rivernear Turtle River	Beltrami	1,740	63 ft	72 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Trout Lakenear Manhattan Beach	Crow Wing	1,366	128 ft	68 out of 100 Lake Score
Cedar Lakenear Aitkin	Aitkin	1,726	105 ft	67 out of 100 Lake Score
Sand Point Lakenear Crane Lake	St. Louis	8,527	184 ft	66 out of 100 Lake Score
North Lida Lakenear Pelican Rapids	Otter Tail	5,523	58 ft	65 out of 100 Lake Score
Lac qui Parlenear Milan	Lac qui Parle	5,741	15 ft	59 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Byllesbynear Cannon Falls	Dakota	1,368	50 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Pelican Lakenear Pelican Rapids	Otter Tail	3,962	55 ft	72 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Idanear Leaf Valley	Douglas	4,445	106 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Sandy Lakenear McGregor	Aitkin	6,125	84 ft	69 out of 100 Lake Score
U.S. Lock & Dam #5A Poolnear Minnesota City	Winona	2,167	—	44 out of 100 Lake Score
Sand Lakenear Squaw Lake	Itasca	3,579	70 ft	66 out of 100 Lake Score
Island Lakenear Northome	Itasca	3,108	35 ft	64 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Lakenear Bemidji	Beltrami	3,598	35 ft	60 out of 100 Lake Score

Best Fishing Lakes by county

Counties with at least three qualifying lakes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best fishing lake in Minnesota?

St. Louis River Estuary in St. Louis County ranks first for fishing in this directory, followed by Lake St. Croix and Lake Pepin. The ranking is computed from public data, so treat it as a starting point rather than a verdict.

How are these lakes ranked?

Each lake gets a fishing rank from Minnesota DNR records (size, depth, clarity, fish surveys, public access) and amenities mapped in OpenStreetMap. No visitor reviews are involved.