Minnesota · Lake County

Farm Lake Fishing guide

Farm Lake covers 1,292 acres in Lake County, Minnesota, reaching 56 ft at its deepest point. Average water clarity runs about 6.3 ft. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 11 times, most recently in 2023, with walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and northern pike in the nets.

Open the live map → Survey data

Depth to 56 ft · top 5 summer marks

Surface1,292 ac

Max depth56 ft

Clarity6.3 ft

Littoral36%

Surveyed2023

How to fish Farm 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. On a lake that drops to 56 ft, check the deep edge of that structure too.
Fall: Walleye are packing onto the sharpest breaks and points as the water cools, in big schools with short windows.

Smallmouth bass

Spring: Smallmouth are on shallow rock, gravel and sand where they spawn.
Early summer: Smallmouth are post-spawn on rock points, gravel bars and the adjacent breaks.
Summer: Smallmouth are on rock humps, points and hard-bottom breaks. On a lake that drops to 56 ft, check the deep edge of that structure too.
Fall: Smallmouth are bunched tight on deep rock, so find one and you have found the school.

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	Smallmouth bass	Northern pike
2023	28"	15"	39"
2017	27"	17"	30"
2012	25"	16"	35"
2008	27"	17"	35"
2004	30"	20"	37"
1999	28"	12"	30"
1994	30"	16"	37"

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

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Walleye · Trolling

Leadcore Line + Crankbaits

4–5" mid-diving crankbait behind a long leadcore run

15–45 fttrolling

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Smallmouth bass · Soft plastics

Ned Rig

2.75" finesse stickbait or craw-style Ned bait

5–25 ftdead slowweedless

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Smallmouth bass · Soft plastics

Drop Shot (Finesse Plastic)

4" finesse worm or 3" minnow-profile plastic

8–40 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

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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
2023	Walleye	6,670 fingerlings
2021	Walleye	7,680 fingerlings
2019	Walleye	15,143 fingerlings
2017	Walleye	11,934 fingerlings

MN DNR · in their words

From the 2023 survey

Farm Lake is five miles east of Ely, covers 1,292 acres, and is one of three connected water bodies, including South Farm and Garden Lakes, that comprise the Garden Reservoir. This system is also connected to White Iron Lake via the South Kawishiwi River. A public access with a concrete plank boat ramp is on the west side of the lake off CR 16 (Kawishiwi Trail). Farm Lake can also be accessed by boat from both Garden and White Iron Lakes and serves as the access to South Farm Lake. A hydroelectric dam at the outlet of Garden Lake affects water levels seasonally on Farm Lake and the other connected lakes.

The 2020 lake management plan for the Garden Reservoir lakes listed walleye and northern pike as the primary management species and the plan also listed bluegill, smallmouth bass, and black crappie as capable of providing quality fishing. A standard survey was conducted in mid-summer 2023 to assess the populations of these species and to monitor lake quality and habitat. The survey crew sampled fish with gill nets and trap nets and measured water quality. Farm Lake was thermally stratified, with a surface temperature of 67 F and a temperature of 47 F at 27 feet. Adequate oxygen levels for gamefish were present to a depth of about 21 feet. Farm Lake has brown, bog-stained water with visibility around 7 feet.

Read the full DNR narrative

Walleye harvest by anglers on the Garden Reservoir chain is restricted with a special regulation that requires releasing all fish from 17 to 26 inches, with only one fish over 26 inches allowed in a 6-fish limit. This regulation has been in place since 2006 with the goal of maintaining overall catch rates while increasing the number of fish over 17 inches and applies to all the connected lakes mentioned above. The gill-net catch for walleye was right at the historic median for the lake. Walleye were 14.2 inches long on average and only 28% of the fish sampled were over 14.0 inches.

Some fish were also caught in trap nets and they were about the same size as the gill-netted fish, at 14.8 inches on average. Large walleye are present in this lake, with three fish over 28 inches sampled in 2023. Walleye ages ranged from 1 to 16 and indicated natural reproduction is occurring in the system.

Northern pike (pike) harvest by anglers on the Garden Reservoir chain is restricted with a special regulation that requires releasing all fish from 24 to 36 inches, with only one pike over 36 inches allowed in a 3-fish limit. This regulation, which applies to all the connected lakes mentioned above, has been in place since 2003 with the goal of maintaining the overall catch rate and increasing the abundance of pike over 24 inches. Northern pike were caught at slightly higher rates than the historic median for Farm Lake. Northern pike were 25.4 inches long on average, which was close to the historical average. The largest pike was 39.1 inches long. Some pike were also caught in trap nets. These fish tended to be smaller, averaging 21.2 inches.

Bluegill were caught about the same rate as have historically been sampled in the lake. Bluegill were 7.1 inches long on average and they displayed some of the fastest growth compared to other bluegill populations in the Tower area. The largest bluegill sampled was 9.1 inches in length, and ages ranged from 2 to 8.

Black crappie were caught about the same rate as have historically been sampled in the lake. Black crappie averaged 9.5 inches in length. The largest black crappie sampled was 12.8 inches long, and ages ranged from 2 to 10.

Additional species sampled in 2023 included brown bullhead, burbot, cisco, rock bass, smallmouth bass, white sucker, and yellow perch.

Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.

Recent reports

Farm Lake fishing reports

Recent reports on Farm 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

Lake County reports

Public water access

Getting on the water

Farm Lake (trailer launch)

DNR bathymetry

Farm Lake depth map

Farm Lake depth contour map, Lake County, Minnesota — Depth contours to 56 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

Garden Lake · 653 ac · 1.4 mi
South Farm Lake · 564 ac · 1.8 mi
Pickerel Lake · 182 ac · 3.1 mi
Stub Lake · 89 ac · 3.1 mi
Fall Lake · 2,259 ac · 3.2 mi
Eskwagama Lake · 88 ac · 3.8 mi
White Iron Lake · 3,238 ac · 4.1 mi
Browns Lake · 219 ac · 4.2 mi

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How deep is Farm Lake?

Farm Lake reaches 56 ft at its deepest point; about 36% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).

How big is Farm Lake?

Farm Lake covers 1,292 acres with about 20 miles of shoreline.

How clear is the water in Farm Lake?

DNR Secchi readings on Farm Lake average 6.3 ft of visibility, middling clarity for a Minnesota lake.

What fish are in Farm Lake?

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

Is Farm Lake stocked?

Yes. The DNR stocked walleye in 2023; the stocking table on this page lists every year back to 2017.

Does Farm Lake have a public access?

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

How big do walleye get in Farm Lake?

The biggest walleye measured in recent DNR surveys taped 28"; the size-history table on this page tracks the biggest fish in each survey back to 1994.

When was Farm Lake last surveyed?

The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Farm Lake in 2023, the most recent of 11 surveys on record.

Page updated September 22, 2026.

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

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