Minnesota · Crow Wing County

Emily Lake Fishing guide

Emily Lake covers 721 acres in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, reaching 13 ft at its deepest point. Average water clarity runs about 2.9 ft. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 9 times, most recently in 2023, with walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill in the nets.

Open the live map → Survey data

Depth to 13 ft · top 5 summer marks

Surface721 ac

Max depth13 ft

Clarity2.9 ft

Littoral100%

Surveyed2023

How to fish Emily Lake through the year

Walleye

Spring: Walleye are shallow, on and just off the spawning flats and the first green weeds. In 2.9 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. With 100% 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. A 13-ft bowl cools fast, so the fall window comes early here.

Largemouth bass

Spring: Largemouth are moving up into the warming bays and flats, staging around wood, docks and new weeds to spawn. In 2.9 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. 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 13-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	Walleye	Largemouth bass	Northern pike
2023	25"	18"	36"
2017	28"	19"	36"
2012	23"	17"	29"
2006	25"	17"	33"
2000	24"	10"	30"
1995	24"	6"	26"

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 · Soft plastics

Curly-Tail Grub on Jig

3" curly-tail grub threaded on a round jighead

3–25 ftslow

Shop curly-tail grubs →

Largemouth bass · Hardbaits

Hollow-Body Frog

3–3.5" hollow-body frog

0–6 ftslow

Shop hollow-body frogs →

Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Texas-Rigged Worm

7" ribbon-tail or straight-tail plastic worm

1–25 ftdead slow

Shop plastic worms →

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 · Muskie & pike

Soft Rubber (Bull Dawg / Medusa)

10" soft rubber body bait

3–25 ftslow

Shop musky rubber →

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	664,000 fry · 1,465 yearlings
2023	Walleye	664,000 fry · 6,137 fingerlings
2021	Walleye	664,000 fry
2019	Walleye	720,000 fry
2018	Walleye	664,000 fry
2017	Walleye	664,000 fry

MN DNR · in their words

From the 2023 survey

Emily Lake is a 664 acre lake located in Crow Wing County. The city of Emily is located off the northwest corner of the lake. Emily is a fairly shallow lake, with the deepest point only 15' deep. Water clarity is poor for this area, with a secchi disk reading of only 3.5'. A public access is located on the southwest corner of the lake. Access is also possible through a channel from Mary Lake.

Walleyes were first stocked in 1911, with regular stocking starting in 1980. Since 2002 walleye fry have been stocked in 2 out of 3 years. Do to the seemingly poor success of fry in recent years and surplus of walleye fingerlings in 2023, 361 pounds of fingerling walleyes were stocked into Emily in the fall of 2023. The gillnet catch of 1.0/net was below average when compared to similar lakes. Size was nice, with Walleyes ranging from 17.1" to 25.3". Average length was 21.4".

Read the full DNR narrative

Northern Pike were sampled in average numbers at 5.9/gill net. Size was a bit nicer than many lakes in the area, with a length of 23.6", and 31% were above the 22-26" protected slot.

Panfish were abundant, but size was small. Black Crappie numbers were high at 68.9/gill net, but only 7% were 8" or larger. Bluegill numbers were average for this type of lake (9.0/trap net), but again were small. Average size was 5.9" and 19% were 7" or larger.

Yellow Perch were sampled in average numbers at 26.7/gill net. Most were too small to be of interest to anglers, with an average length of 6.0". Small Yellow Perch are an important forage species for Walleye and Northern Pike.

Emily Lake is designated as AIS (aquatic invasive species) infested waters because of Eurasian Watermilfoil. Lake users are required to inspect and remove any aquatic plants and animals from their watercraft and trailers as well as pull the plug and drain all water from the watercraft, including bilges, livewells and baitwells.

Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.

Recent reports

Emily Lake fishing reports

Recent reports on Emily 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

Crow Wing County reports

Public water access

Getting on the water

Emily Lake (trailer launch)

DNR bathymetry

Emily Lake depth map

Emily Lake depth contour map, Crow Wing County, Minnesota — Depth contours to 13 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

Trout Lake · 117 ac · 1.5 mi
Mary Lake · 413 ac · 1.7 mi
Ruth Lake · 599 ac · 1.8 mi
Island Lake · 240 ac · 3.4 mi
Pickerel Lake · 117 ac · 3.5 mi
Blue Lake · 177 ac · 4.1 mi
Butterfield Lake · 194 ac · 4.2 mi
Dolney Lake · 272 ac · 4.5 mi

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How deep is Emily Lake?

Emily Lake reaches 13 ft at its deepest point; about 100% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).

How big is Emily Lake?

Emily Lake covers 721 acres with about 5.1 miles of shoreline.

How clear is the water in Emily Lake?

DNR Secchi readings on Emily Lake average 2.9 ft of visibility, on the stained end for a Minnesota lake.

What fish are in Emily Lake?

Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2023) record walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, rock bass.

Is Emily Lake stocked?

Yes. The DNR stocked walleye in 2024; the stocking table on this page lists every year back to 2017.

Does Emily Lake have a public access?

Yes. Emily Lake has one public access site: Emily Lake (trailer launch).

How big do walleye get in Emily Lake?

The biggest walleye measured in recent DNR surveys taped 25"; the size-history table on this page tracks the biggest fish in each survey back to 1995.

When was Emily Lake last surveyed?

The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Emily Lake in 2023, the most recent of 9 surveys on record.

Page updated September 22, 2026.

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

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