DNR survey data · statewide
6 Overlooked Northern Pike Lakes in Minnesota
Northern pike water that fishes above its reputation, picked from 3,109 surveyed Minnesota lakes by DNR catch rate, fish size and trophy record.
By David Berget · Published 2026-08-17
DNR surveys have recorded northern pike in 3,109 Minnesota lakes. Here are 6 of them.
Each card says what its lake is good for, because the lakes with the most northern pike and the lakes with the biggest northern pike are usually different lakes.
Big fish. 12% of the northern pike measured here were 30 inches or better, unusually high for water like this.
- 296 acres
- 20 ft deep
- biggest 39 in
- surveyed 2024
Numbers and size. Gill nets averaged 18.7 northern pike per net, and about 1 in 156 of them went 38 inches or better, unusually high for water like this.
- 280 acres
- 54 ft deep
- biggest 39 in
- surveyed 2024
Big fish. About 1 in 192 northern pike measured here went 38 inches or better, unusually high for water like this.
- 533 acres
- 15 ft deep
- biggest 33 in
- surveyed 2022
Big fish. 7% of the northern pike measured here were 30 inches or better, high for water like this.
- 1,359 acres
- 9 ft deep
- biggest 32 in
- surveyed 2023
Big fish. 7% of the northern pike measured here were 30 inches or better, high for water like this.
- 156 acres
- 30 ft deep
- biggest 44 in
- surveyed 2025
Big fish. About 1 in 238 northern pike measured here went 38 inches or better, unusually high for water like this.
- 310 acres
- 27 ft deep
- biggest 38 in
- surveyed 2024
How these northern pike lakes were picked
For pike, a high catch rate alone says little about lake quality. Gill nets find them easily and the moderate mark is only 10 northern pike per net, which lakes full of small pike clear easily. So the 30-inch share carries most of the weight on this list. Both figures come from net counts, not from angler reports.
Of the 3,109 lakes with northern pike on record, 1,726 clear the habitat gate: under 60 feet deep, with at least 50% of the water in the shallow zone where the food is. Anything already ranked among the state's best-known northern pike water is set aside, since those lakes are already well covered. These 6 are what is left after keeping only the lakes surveyed since 2016 that cleared the mark above, one entry per water body, each with a public boat launch. Full methodology: how the grades work.