Minnesota · Sherburne County

Briggs Lake Fishing guide

Briggs Lake covers 404 acres in Sherburne County, Minnesota, reaching 25 ft at its deepest point. Secchi readings average around 2.1 ft of visibility. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 18 times, most recently in 2024, with walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and northern pike in the nets.

Open the live map → Survey data

Depth to 25 ft · top 5 summer marks

Surface404 ac

Max depth25 ft

Mean11.7 ft

Clarity2.1 ft

Littoral42%

Surveyed2024

How to fish Briggs Lake through the year

Walleye

Spring: Walleye are shallow, on and just off the spawning flats and the first green weeds. In 2.1 ft of visibility, they sit shallower than you think.
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.
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. In 2.1 ft of visibility, they sit shallower than you think.
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.
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
2024	23"	7"	32"
2022	26"	—	—
2021	22"	—	—
2019	27"	19"	30"
2018	19"	—	—
2016	21"	—	—
2015	26"	16"	28"
2014	20"	—	—

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

Snap Weights + Stickbaits

4–5" suspending or slow-floating stickbait

10–35 fttrolling

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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 · Jigs & bladed

Skirted Casting Jig + Craw Trailer

3.5–4" craw-style trailer on a skirted casting/flipping jig

3–20 ftdead slowweedless

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Northern pike · Soft plastics

Paddletail Swimbait on Jighead

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

3–25 ftmoderate

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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
2024	Walleye	170,000 fry
2022	Walleye	170,000 fry
2021	Walleye	170,000 fry
2019	Bluegill Sunfish	1,000 adults
2019	Walleye	150,000 fry
2018	Walleye	170,000 fry
2016	Walleye	170,000 fry

MN DNR · in their words

From the 2024 survey

The Briggs Chain of Lakes is made up of Briggs, Julia and Rush lakes which are connected by a navigable channel. Walleye fry have been stocked into the chain every other year since 1992. Night electrofishing was conducted during the evening of October 3, 2024. A total of nine young of year (YOY) Walleye were collected across the three lakes in a total of 2.3 hours of electrofishing effort for a catch rate of 3.9/hr. This was a decrease over the last stocking in 2022 (13.9/hr). Since 2006 the YOY catch rate across lakes has ranged from 5.7/hr to 131.5/hr with an average of 50.9/hr. Individual lake YOY Walleye catch rates for 2024 were 4.7/hr for Briggs, 6.7/hr for Rush, and 2.0/hr for Julia. Average fingerling length across lakes was 6.7 inches.

Survival of Walleye age-1 and older was good. A total of 102 Walleye age-1 and older were collected across the three lakes in a total of 2.3 hours of electrofishing effort for a catch rate of 44.6/hr. Catch rates of age-1 and older Walleye was 52.4/hr for Briggs, 28.8/hr for Rush, and 45.1/hr for Julia. Age-1 or older Walleye sampled ranged in length from 9.1 to 23.6 inches and averaged 15.1 inches.

Read the full DNR narrative

Results from the 2024 lake survey showed that the Walleye catch ranged from 1.3 to 5.0 per gill net, which was below the median value for both Lake Classes 43 (Julia, Rush) and Lake Class 24 (Briggs). These catch rates were a slight increase over the 2019 catch rates that ranged from 1.7 to 3.5 per gill net. Perhaps more interesting was the fact that 45% of the walleye sampled in the 2024 survey were from years where stocking did not occur. Since lakes in the Briggs Chain lack suitable spawning habitat it seems likely that these fish immigrated from nearby Elk Lake which is not stocked by the DNR and is sustained entirely by natural reproduction from the connected Elk River.

Fry stocking continues to be the preferred management strategy for Walleye in the Briggs Chain and will be stocked again in 2026.

Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.

Recent reports

Briggs Lake fishing reports

Recent reports on Briggs 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

Sherburne County reports

Public water access

Getting on the water

Briggs Lake (S) (trailer launch)
Briggs Lake (NW) (carry-in)

DNR bathymetry

Briggs Lake depth map

Briggs Lake depth contour map, Sherburne County, Minnesota — Depth contours to 25 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

Rush Lake · 161 ac · 0.6 mi
Julia Lake · 155 ac · 0.8 mi
Elk Lake · 357 ac · 2 mi
Camp Lake · 82 ac · 4.1 mi
Round Lake · 36 ac · 6.4 mi
Clear Lake · 113 ac · 6.4 mi
Pickerel Lake · 108 ac · 6.4 mi
Long Lake · 174 ac · 7 mi

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How deep is Briggs Lake?

Briggs Lake reaches 25 ft at its deepest point with a mean depth of 11.7 ft; about 42% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).

How big is Briggs Lake?

Briggs Lake covers 404 acres with about 3.9 miles of shoreline.

How clear is the water in Briggs Lake?

DNR Secchi readings on Briggs Lake average 2.1 ft of visibility, on the stained end for a Minnesota lake.

What fish are in Briggs Lake?

Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2024) record walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, rock bass, channel catfish.

Is Briggs Lake stocked?

Yes. The DNR stocked walleye in 2024; the stocking table on this page lists every year back to 2016.

Does Briggs Lake have a public access?

Yes. Briggs Lake has 2 public access sites, including Briggs Lake (S) (trailer launch).

How big do walleye get in Briggs 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 2014.

When was Briggs Lake last surveyed?

The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Briggs Lake in 2024, the most recent of 18 surveys on record.

Page updated October 28, 2026.

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

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