Minnesota · Hubbard County
Deer Lake Fishing guide
Deer Lake sits in Hubbard County, Minnesota, and covers 181 acres, reaching 9 ft at its deepest point. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 3 times, most recently in 2015, with walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill in the nets. That survey is 11 years old now.
DNR survey data
Fish species
No recent survey rating.
BluegillJust a few14.8per trap net6"Typical8"Biggest
Lengths measured · 74 fish
Recent · 2015Lengths measured · 74 fish
2015Lengths measured · 71 fish
1993No recent survey rating.
Rates come from standard DNR survey gear (gill nets, trap nets, electrofishing), judged against statewide benchmarks for the same gear, so the same number of fish per net can read differently for two species. Where the standard gear can't count a species reliably, only presence and size are listed. Typical is the middle fish of those measured. Open a row for the full length spread, survey by survey.
How to fish Deer 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. With 100% 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. A 9-ft bowl cools fast, so the fall window comes early here.
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. With 100% of this lake 15 ft or shallower, the weed edge is the main event.
- Fall
- Pike are on the last green weeds and the breaks beside them, feeding heavily as the water drops. A 9-ft bowl cools fast, so the fall window comes early here.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 13" | 16" | 8" |
| 1993 | 14" | 23" | 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
Wacky-Rigged Stickworm
5" stickworm
Northern pike · Soft plastics
Paddletail Swimbait on Jighead
4–5" paddletail swimbait on a ball-head swimbait jighead
Northern pike · Jigs & bladed
Spinnerbait
3/8–1/2 oz safety-pin spinnerbait with tandem willow-leaf blades
Bluegill · Soft plastics
Tungsten Jig + Micro Plastic
1–1.5" micro plastic
Bluegill · Jigs & bladed
Beetle Spin
1.5–2" curly-tail grub trailer on a small in-line spinner jighead
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 2015 survey
Deer Lake is located 0.5 miles West of Nevis, in central Hubbard County. Deer has a surface area of 181 acres and a maximum depth of 9 feet. There are two ways to access Deer Lake. The first is a city owned earthen access on the southeast shore of the lake, with limited parking area. The second way to access the lake is through a channel that connects Deer Lake to Shallow Lake, but this requires high water to navigate. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Deer Lake is in lake class 42. Class 42 lakes generally are shallow with a very high littoral area (depths less than 15 feet), irregularly shaped, and have hard and turbid water. Moran Lake is the only other class 42 lake in the Park Rapids area.
Only one Largemouth Bass and two Northern Pike were sampled in the summer of 2015. They both have been sampled in very limited numbers in the past, because preferred sampling gear has not been used.
Read the full DNR narrative
Bluegills were sampled in higher numbers than recent years, and in comparable numbers to similar lakes. Bluegills of all sizes were sampled from 3 to 8.2 inches, with most fish 6.5 to 8 inches in length.
Black Crappies were sampled in comparable numbers to most past surveys but lower than similar lakes. The average size was 8 inches, with some fish larger than 10 inches.
Currently no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Deer Lake. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.
Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.
Recent reports
Deer Lake fishing reports
Recent reports on Deer 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.
Public water access
Getting on the water
- City access
DNR bathymetry
Deer Lake depth map
Within 30 miles
Nearby lakes
- Shallow Lake · 284 ac · 0.8 mi
- Spider Lake · 570 ac · 1.6 mi
- Belle Taine Lake · 1,497 ac · 2.2 mi
- Seventh Crow Wing Lake · 262 ac · 2.4 mi
- Crow Wing Lake · 47 ac · 2.4 mi
- Round Lake · 45 ac · 2.4 mi
- Sixth Crow Wing Lake · 346 ac · 3 mi
- Owl Lake · 90 ac · 3 mi
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
How deep is Deer Lake?
Deer Lake reaches 9 ft at its deepest point with a mean depth of 5 ft; about 100% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).
How big is Deer Lake?
Deer Lake covers 181 acres with about 4.2 miles of shoreline.
What fish are in Deer Lake?
Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2015) record walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, rock bass.
Is Deer Lake stocked?
No stocking is on record for Deer Lake in the DNR's stocking database.
Does Deer Lake have a public access?
Yes. Deer Lake has one public access site: City access.
How big do largemouth bass get in Deer Lake?
The biggest largemouth bass measured in recent DNR surveys taped 13"; the size-history table on this page tracks the biggest fish in each survey back to 1993.
When was Deer Lake last surveyed?
The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Deer Lake in 2015, the most recent of 3 surveys on record. A survey that old is a starting point, not a current reading.
Page updated .
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