Minnesota · Ramsey County

Bald Eagle Lake Fishing guide

Bald Eagle Lake sits in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and covers 1,049 acres, reaching 36 ft at its deepest point. Average water clarity runs about 5.4 ft. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 21 times, most recently in 2022, with walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and northern pike in the nets.

Open the live map → Survey data

Depth to 36 ft · top 5 summer marks

Surface1,049 ac

Max depth36 ft

Mean13.3 ft

Clarity5.4 ft

Littoral72%

Surveyed2022

How to fish Bald Eagle Lake through the year

Walleye

Spring: Walleye are shallow, on and just off the spawning flats and the first green weeds.
Early summer: Walleye are setting up on the outside weed edge, points and shallow structure.
Summer: Walleye are working the weed edge, points and any wind-blown structure. With 72% of this lake 15 ft or shallower, the weed edge is the main event.
Fall: Walleye are packing onto the sharpest breaks and points as the water cools, in big schools with short windows.

Largemouth bass

Spring: Largemouth are moving up into the warming bays and flats, staging around wood, docks and new weeds to spawn.
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. With 72% of this lake 15 ft or shallower, the weed edge is the main event.
Fall: Largemouth are chasing bait back onto the flats and into the remaining green weeds, feeding hard and shallow before the freeze.

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	Walleye	Largemouth bass	Northern pike
2022	26"	16"	33"
2020	26"	15"	36"
2018	25"	12"	34"
2017	26"	16"	30"
2016	23"	17"	34"
2014	27"	16"	37"
2012	33"	17"	35"
2011	27"	—	—

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:

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 →

Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Texas-Rigged Worm

7" ribbon-tail or straight-tail plastic worm

1–25 ftdead slow

Shop plastic worms →

Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Wacky-Rigged Stickworm

5" stickworm

1–12 ftdead slowweedless

Shop stickworms →

Northern pike · Soft plastics

Paddletail Swimbait on Jighead

4–5" paddletail swimbait on a ball-head swimbait jighead

3–25 ftmoderate

Shop paddletail swimbaits →

Northern pike · Jigs & bladed

Spinnerbait

3/8–1/2 oz safety-pin spinnerbait with tandem willow-leaf blades

1–12 ftmoderate

Shop spinnerbaits →

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	1,047 fingerlings
2025	Walleye	18,775 fingerlings
2024	Walleye	24,895 fingerlings
2023	Muskellunge	1,051 fingerlings
2023	Walleye	14,142 fingerlings
2022	Walleye	16,164 fingerlings
2021	Walleye	12,310 fingerlings
2020	Muskellunge	264 yearlings
2020	Walleye	7,371 fingerlings
2019	Muskellunge	1,045 fingerlings
2019	Walleye	12,405 fingerlings
2018	Muskellunge	1,047 fingerlings

Stocking records before 2018 omitted.

MN DNR · in their words

From the 2022 survey

Bald Eagle Lake is a 1,047 acre (751 littoral acres), class 24 lake located in northeastern Ramsey County. The lake is primarily managed for Walleye and Muskellunge. Zebra mussels were discovered in August, 2018 and have the potential to increase the water clarity in Bald Eagle Lake which may impact future survey catch rates. Walleye fingerlings have been stocked biennially in even numbered years at a rate of 2.0 pounds per littoral acre (1,502 lbs.) from 1998-2016. Beginning in 2017 Walleye fingerlings are stocked annually at a rate of 1.0 or 0.65 pounds per littoral acre based on a randomized stocking schedule. This will allow better assessment of the effects of fingerling stocking density on Walleye year class strength. Muskellunge fingerlings are currently stocked at a rate of 1 fish per acre (1,047 fish) biennially in even numbered years. Additionally, Muskellunge yearlings and age-2 juveniles were stocked during 2015 and 2016. Bald Eagle was surveyed with gill nets in July to target Northern Pike and Walleye while Bass were sampled in May by electrofishing. Muskellunge were sampled during a separate standalone survey that will cover two years with the first year occurring spring 2022. The previous survey on this lake occurred in 2020.

Walleye were sampled by gill nets at a rate of 4.3 fish per net. This is well above the median catch rate for the lake class of 2.8 fish per net and the highest catch for this lake since 2008. This is meeting the long-range management goal of a Walleye catch rate between 4 and 6 fish per net. Fish size was fairly evenly distributed with lengths ranging from 9.7 to 26.6 inches and averaging 17 inches. The ages of those fish were also well distributed with the majority of fish being 2 to 9 years old with one individual at 14 years old. It appears that stockings are consistently contributing to the fishery with adequate growth and persisting to offer an opportunity for larger size classes of fish.

Read the full DNR narrative

Northern Pike were sampled at a rate of 6.2 fish per gill net. This also exceeds the median catch rate for the lake class of 3.8. This was a substantially lower catch rate than the previous survey's catch of 14 fish per net but higher than the average over the last 30 years of between 3 to 4 fish per net. Fish size was typical for the lake and the lake class with an average length of 24 inches and a range of 16.6 to 33.9 inches. Seven percent of fish exceeded 30 inches in length so an opportunity for quality fish does exist.

Yellow Perch were sampled at a rate or 24.2 fish per gill net which is double the median for the lake class but typical relative to the lake's history. Fish size small, as is typical, with a mean length of 7.1 inches. The largest fish sampled measured 9.7 inches long.

Largemouth Bass were sampled by electrofishing at a rate of 27 fish per hour. Electrofishing catch rates on this lake have been quite variable in the past but this sampling was on the low end. Mean size was the largest yet with an average length of 11.3 inches. There was a lack of larger fish as the longest bass sampled was 16.8 inches.

While other game fish species were sampled, summer gill netting does not produce data that is reliable for making inferences as to their abundance or size structure. As a note for anglers, two Muskellunge were sampled, a 42 and a 44 inch long fish. Other fish sampled were; Black Bullhead, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Golden Shiner, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Bullhead.

Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.

Recent reports

Bald Eagle Lake fishing reports

Recent reports on Bald Eagle 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

Ramsey County reports

Public water access

Getting on the water

Bald Eagle Lake (trailer launch)
Bald Eagle Lake Fishing Pier (fishing pier)

DNR bathymetry

Bald Eagle Lake depth map

Bald Eagle Lake depth contour map, Ramsey County, Minnesota — Depth contours to 36 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

Otter Lake · 302 ac · 1.2 mi
White Bear Lake · 2,428 ac · 3.3 mi
Centerville Lake · 474 ac · 3.8 mi
Pleasant Lake · 607 ac · 4.5 mi
Reshanau Lake · 337 ac · 4.7 mi
Peltier Lake · 552 ac · 4.9 mi
Lost Lake · 22 ac · 5.3 mi
East Vadnais Lake · 393 ac · 6 mi

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How deep is Bald Eagle Lake?

Bald Eagle Lake reaches 36 ft at its deepest point with a mean depth of 13.3 ft; about 72% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).

How big is Bald Eagle Lake?

Bald Eagle Lake covers 1,049 acres with about 9.2 miles of shoreline.

How clear is the water in Bald Eagle Lake?

DNR Secchi readings on Bald Eagle Lake average 5.4 ft of visibility, middling clarity for a Minnesota lake.

What fish are in Bald Eagle Lake?

Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2022) record walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, muskellunge, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, tiger muskellunge.

Is Bald Eagle Lake stocked?

Yes. The DNR stocked muskellunge and walleye in 2025; the stocking table on this page lists every year back to 2018.

Does Bald Eagle Lake have a public access?

Yes. Bald Eagle Lake has 2 public access sites, including Bald Eagle Lake (trailer launch).

How big do walleye get in Bald Eagle Lake?

The biggest walleye measured in recent DNR surveys taped 26"; the size-history table on this page tracks the biggest fish in each survey back to 2011.

When was Bald Eagle Lake last surveyed?

The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Bald Eagle Lake in 2022, the most recent of 21 surveys on record.

Page updated October 28, 2026.

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

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