Minnesota · Itasca County
Fox Lake Fishing guide
Fox Lake is a 263-acre lake in Itasca County, Minnesota, reaching 75 ft at its deepest point. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 2 times, most recently in 1987, with largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and bluegill in the nets. That survey is 39 years old now.
DNR survey data
Fish species
The DNR last surveyed Fox Lake in 1987. Ratings need a survey from the last 20 years, so this page lists the species from that older record without numbers.
- Largemouth bass
- Smallmouth bass
- Northern pike
- Bluegill
- Crappie
- Yellow perch
- Rock bass
How to fish Fox 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 75 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.
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 75 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.
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
Smallmouth bass · Hardbaits
Walk-the-Dog Topwater
4–4.5" walk-the-dog topwater
Smallmouth bass · Soft plastics
Ned Rig
2.75" finesse stickbait or craw-style Ned bait
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
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 1987 survey
northern cisco, northern pike, and pumpkinseed populations are above medians but northern pike populations have gone down from the 1974 and 1980 sampling. White sucker and yellow perch populations are below medians and the perch popu- lation has gone down from 1974. All other popula- tions appear to be normal and have little fluctu- ations over the years.
Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.
Recent reports
Fox Lake fishing reports
Recent reports on Fox 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
Fox Lake depth map
Within 30 miles
Nearby lakes
- Clubhouse Lake · 265 ac · 1.2 mi
- East Lake · 192 ac · 1.4 mi
- Horseshoe Lake · 142 ac · 1.7 mi
- Gunn Lake · 382 ac · 1.9 mi
- Three Island Lake · 250 ac · 2.1 mi
- Highland Lake · 105 ac · 2.6 mi
- Crooked Lake · 135 ac · 2.7 mi
- Burns Lake · 181 ac · 3.1 mi
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
How deep is Fox Lake?
Fox Lake reaches 75 ft at its deepest point; about 74% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).
How big is Fox Lake?
Fox Lake covers 263 acres with about 4.7 miles of shoreline.
What fish are in Fox Lake?
Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 1987) record largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, rock bass.
Is Fox Lake stocked?
No stocking is on record for Fox Lake in the DNR's stocking database.
When was Fox Lake last surveyed?
The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Fox Lake in 1987, the most recent of 2 surveys on record. That is more than 20 years ago, so this page lists species without ratings.
Page updated .
Featured guide spot
Your guide service here
One featured guide per lake, with your photo, your writeup and a link straight to your booking page. Free through December 31, 2026.
Then $20 a month from January. Cancel any time.
The live map adds today's conditions and ranked spots for Fox Lake, plus a trip plan you can share:
Open Fox Lake on the live map → Fished it lately? Write a report