Minnesota · Douglas County
Cork Lake Fishing guide
Cork Lake covers 101 acres in Douglas County, Minnesota, reaching 50 ft at its deepest point. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 5 times, most recently in 2001, with largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill and crappie in the nets. That survey is 25 years old now.
DNR survey data
Fish species
The DNR last surveyed Cork Lake in 2001. Ratings need a survey from the last 20 years, so this page lists the species from that older record without numbers.
- Largemouth bass
- Northern pike
- Bluegill
- Crappie
- Yellow perch
How to fish Cork 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.
- 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 50 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.
Northern pike
- Spring
- Pike are in the shallow bays and along new weed growth.
- Early summer
- Pike are on the outside weed edge and points.
- Summer
- Pike are on the deep weed edge and points near the coolest water they can find. On a lake that drops to 50 ft, check the deep edge of that structure too.
- Fall
- Pike are on the last green weeds and the breaks beside them, feeding heavily as the water drops.
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 | Northern pike | Bluegill |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 13" | 26" | 9" |
| 1996 | 15" | 31" | 7" |
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
Largemouth bass · Soft plastics
Free Rig
Creature bait or magnum finesse worm
Northern pike · Soft plastics
Paddletail Swimbait on Jighead
4–5" paddletail swimbait on a ball-head swimbait jighead
Northern pike · Muskie & pike
Soft Rubber (Bull Dawg / Medusa)
10" soft rubber body bait
Bluegill · Live bait
Clip-On Bobber + Worm
half to whole garden nightcrawler
Bluegill · Soft plastics
Tungsten Jig + Micro Plastic
1–1.5" micro plastic
Full setups, including hooks, weights and line, are on the live map. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
MN DNR · in their words
From the 2001 survey
Cook Lake, also known as Cork Lake, is a small lake located west of Alexandria adjacent to Lobster Lake. The lake has no public access but winter anglers access the lake off HWY 114. The lake is fringed with dense stands of cattail and water lilies. Submergent vegetation is also extremely abundant. The large amounts of vegetation provide very good spawning and nursery habitat. These plants also enhance water quality by protecting the shoreline from wave action and taking up available nutrients preventing algal blooms. The mid-summer secchi reading was 12.0 feet.Cook lake is utilized primarily in winter due to the lack of a public access. Winter anglers target bluegill and black crappie. Bluegill relative abundance increased from 5.2 fish per trapnet in 1996 to 13.0 fish per trapnet in 2001. Approximately 83% of the sampled fish exceeded 6.0 inches with 10% exceeding 8.0 inches in length. Black crappie numbers have also increased slightly with a trapnet catch of 1.5 fish per net. These fish averaged just over 9.0 inches long.Northern pike can also be active on the lake and catch rates have increased from 6.5 fish per trapnet in 1996 to 9.5 fish per trapnet in 2001. The mean length of the sampled fish was 19.9 inches with the largest fish measuring 22.7 inches. The mean weight these fish was 1.6 pounds.Largemouth bass are extremely abundant with a electrofishing catch rate of 142.5 fish per hour. The size structure, however, is less than desirable with a mean length of 9.6 inches and no fish measuring over 14 inches.
Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.
Recent reports
Cork Lake fishing reports
Recent reports on Cork 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.
DNR bathymetry
Cork Lake depth map
Within 30 miles
Nearby lakes
- Lake Mina · 411 ac · 1.4 mi
- Mud Lake · 86 ac · 1.7 mi
- Lobster Lake · 1,334 ac · 2 mi
- Grill Lake · 67 ac · 2.1 mi
- Lake Latoka · 767 ac · 2.5 mi
- Mill Lake · 451 ac · 2.8 mi
- Lake Brophy · 297 ac · 3.1 mi
- Round Lake · 81 ac · 3.2 mi
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
How deep is Cork Lake?
Cork Lake reaches 50 ft at its deepest point with a mean depth of 10 ft; about 70% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).
How big is Cork Lake?
Cork Lake covers 101 acres with about 3.2 miles of shoreline.
What fish are in Cork Lake?
Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2001) record largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch.
Is Cork Lake stocked?
No stocking is on record for Cork Lake in the DNR's stocking database.
When was Cork Lake last surveyed?
The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Cork Lake in 2001, the most recent of 5 surveys on record. That is more than 20 years ago, so this page lists species without ratings.
Page updated .
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