Minnesota · Morrison County

Alexander Lake Fishing guide

Alexander Lake covers 2,709 acres in Morrison County, Minnesota, reaching 64 ft at its deepest point. Secchi readings average around 14.4 ft of visibility. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 28 times, most recently in 2025, with walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and northern pike in the nets.

Open the live map → Survey data

Depth to 64 ft · top 5 summer marks

Surface2,709 ac

Max depth64 ft

Mean28 ft

Clarity14.4 ft

Littoral31%

Surveyed2025

How to fish Alexander Lake through the year

Largemouth bass

Spring: Largemouth are moving up into the warming bays and flats, staging around wood, docks and new weeds to spawn. At 14.4 ft of clarity, fish them deeper and lighter than usual.
Early summer: Largemouth are on the shallow spawning flats and protected bays, where beds go on firm bottom next to isolated cover.
Summer: Largemouth are in and along the weeds: cabbage and milfoil edges, matted cover and shade. On a lake that drops to 64 ft, check the deep edge of that structure too.
Fall: Largemouth are chasing bait back onto the flats and into the remaining green weeds, feeding hard and shallow before the freeze.

Smallmouth bass

Spring: Smallmouth are on shallow rock, gravel and sand where they spawn. At 14.4 ft of clarity, fish them deeper and lighter than usual.
Early summer: Smallmouth are post-spawn on rock points, gravel bars and the adjacent breaks.
Summer: Smallmouth are on rock humps, points and hard-bottom breaks. On a lake that drops to 64 ft, check the deep edge of that structure too.
Fall: Smallmouth are bunched tight on deep rock, so find one and you have found the school.

Season patterns for each species. Open the live map for today's wind, light and water temp.

Size history

Biggest fish by survey year

Survey year	Largemouth bass	Smallmouth bass	Walleye
2025	—	—	24"
2024	18"	18"	26"
2023	—	—	17"
2022	18"	19"	30"
2021	14"	19"	27"
2020	—	—	17"
2019	—	—	15"
2018	19"	20"	29"

Longest fish measured by DNR survey crews in each year's nets. Survey gear samples the population, so the lake usually holds larger fish than any survey measured.

Suggested tackle

What to bring

Top presentations for this lake's structure and clarity:

Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Texas-Rigged Worm

7" ribbon-tail or straight-tail plastic worm

1–25 ftdead slow

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Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Free Rig

Creature bait or magnum finesse worm

8–30 ftdead slowweedless

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Smallmouth bass · Soft plastics

Ned Rig

2.75" finesse stickbait or craw-style Ned bait

5–25 ftdead slowweedless

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Smallmouth bass · Soft plastics

Drop Shot (Finesse Plastic)

4" finesse worm or 3" minnow-profile plastic

8–40 ftdead slowweedless

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Walleye · Live bait

Live-Bait (Lindy) Rig + Leech/Crawler

jumbo leech or half a nightcrawler

8–35 ftslow

Shop octopus hooks →

Walleye · Trolling

Leadcore Line + Crankbaits

4–5" mid-diving crankbait behind a long leadcore run

15–45 fttrolling

Shop deep-diving crankbaits →

Full setups, including hooks, weights and line, are on the live map. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

DNR stocking records

Stocking history

Year	Species	Stocked
2025	Muskellunge	174 yearlings
2025	Walleye	2,500,000 fry
2024	Muskellunge	140 fingerlings
2024	Walleye	2,500,000 fry
2023	Muskellunge	75 fingerlings · 22 yearlings
2023	Walleye	2,500,000 fry · 10,943 fingerlings
2022	Walleye	2,500,000 fry
2021	Muskellunge	108 adults
2021	Walleye	2,500,000 fry
2020	Muskellunge	105 yearlings
2019	Muskellunge	425 fingerlings
2019	Walleye	1,250,000 fry

Stocking records before 2019 omitted.

MN DNR · in their words

From the 2025 survey

Lake Alexander (DOW# 49-0079-00; Lake Class 22) is a 2,708-acre lake located near Randall, Minnesota. There are two Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) owned concrete boat ramps located on the east and west shores. Lake Alexander has 16.26 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 64 feet. The lake is currently managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and Muskellunge.

Lake Alexander has had a long history of Walleye (WAE) stocking dating back to the 1940s. Through 1992, fingerlings were predominantly stocked, but occasionally yearling or adult fish were utilized. No WAE stocking occurred in 1993 and 1994. Fry stocking was initiated on a biennial basis in 1995 and continued through 2011. Management changed to fry stocking in two of three years in 2011 and changed again to annual stocking in 2014 when little or no natural reproduction was documented in past non-stocked years. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Lake Alexander was not stocked with fry in 2020. The management plan changed in 2014 to annual fry stocking at alternating rates to determine if a lower rate would meet population management goals. In even numbered years, the lake was stocked with 2,500,000 fry and in odd numbered years 1,250,000 fry. After 2019, a decision was made to maintain fry stocking at the higher rate as it appeared more successful at meeting management goals.

Read the full DNR narrative

Fall night electrofishing is conducted annually on Lake Alexander to gauge the success of WAE fry stocking or natural reproduction on unstocked years. A fall night electrofishing survey (EW) targeting young of year Walleye (YWAE) was conducted on September 23, 2025, to evaluate YWAE abundance following fry stocking. Juvenile and adult Walleye (WAE) were also netted and measured. EW has been conducted annually on Alexander since 2014. In 2025, a total of 14 juvenile and adult WAE were captured ranging in length from 11.5 to 24.4 inches, no YWAE were captured or observed by biologists.

Catch rates in other EW surveys conducted since 2007 have produced CPEs ranging from 733.1/hour (2007) to 6.2/hour (2023), with a median CPE of 128/hr. Catch rates in the last 7 EW surveys have fallen well below the median, with none exceeding 46/hour. Zebra mussels were first detected in Lake Alexander in 2019, and there appears to be a strong negative correlation between the abundance of Zebra Mussels and YWAE CPE in EW surveys. Water clarity has been increasing in Lake Alexander since the detection of Zebra Mussels, an effect which has also been documented in other systems and is resultant of the planktivorous feeding strategy of Zebra Mussels. Vegetation has increased in some areas of historical stations which have previously provided quality YWAE habitat. However, stations still provide quality habitat overall that YWAE should be utilizing as of 2025. Due to low fall YWAE catch rates in four consecutive assessments, a management decision was made to stock WAE fingerlings in 2023. These fish were present in the 2024 gillnet survey, showing survival and assumed future recruitment to the fishery. Fingerling may be stocked in the future if they are available and doing so appears necessary.

Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.

Recent reports

Alexander Lake fishing reports

Recent reports on Alexander Lake from guides, tournaments and regular anglers. Anything posted in the last two weeks also bumps the matching spots on the live map, so you'll see a "matches a recent report" tag on them.

Open the live map → Fished it lately? Write a report

Morrison County reports

Public water access

Getting on the water

Alexander Lake (E) (trailer launch)
Alexander Lake (W) (trailer launch)

DNR bathymetry

Alexander Lake depth map

Alexander Lake depth contour map, Morrison County, Minnesota — Depth contours to 64 ft from Minnesota DNR bathymetry, free to save or print. The live map adds ranked spots and conditions on the same contours.

Within 30 miles

Nearby lakes

Ham Lake · 42 ac · 2.7 mi
Round Lake · 104 ac · 2.9 mi
Fish Trap Lake · 1,164 ac · 3.4 mi
Crookneck Lake · 191 ac · 4 mi
Shamineau Lake · 1,434 ac · 4.1 mi
Stanchfield Lake · 116 ac · 4.2 mi
Star Lake · 69 ac · 6 mi
Round Lake · 127 ac · 7 mi

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How deep is Alexander Lake?

Alexander Lake reaches 64 ft at its deepest point with a mean depth of 28 ft; about 31% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).

How big is Alexander Lake?

Alexander Lake covers 2,709 acres with about 16.3 miles of shoreline.

How clear is the water in Alexander Lake?

DNR Secchi readings on Alexander Lake average 14.4 ft of visibility, clear water for a Minnesota lake.

What fish are in Alexander Lake?

Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2025) record walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, muskellunge, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, rock bass.

Is Alexander Lake stocked?

Yes. The DNR stocked muskellunge and walleye in 2025; the stocking table on this page lists every year back to 2019.

Does Alexander Lake have a public access?

Yes. Alexander Lake has 2 public access sites, including Alexander Lake (E) (trailer launch).

How big do largemouth bass get in Alexander Lake?

The biggest largemouth bass measured in recent DNR surveys taped 18"; the size-history table on this page tracks the biggest fish in each survey back to 2018.

When was Alexander Lake last surveyed?

The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Alexander Lake in 2025, the most recent of 28 surveys on record.

Page updated October 28, 2026.

The live map adds today's conditions and ranked spots for Alexander Lake, plus a trip plan you can share:

Open Alexander Lake on the live map → Fished it lately? Write a report