Minnesota · Crow Wing County
Jail Lake Fishing guide
Jail Lake is a 184-acre lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, reaching 22 ft at its deepest point. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 2 times, most recently in 1998, with walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill in the nets. That survey is 28 years old now.
DNR survey data
Fish species
The DNR last surveyed Jail Lake in 1998. Ratings need a survey from the last 20 years, so this page lists the species from that older record without numbers.
- Walleye
- Largemouth bass
- Northern pike
- Bluegill
- Crappie
- Yellow perch
How to fish Jail 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. With 62% 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.
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 62% 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.
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:
Walleye · Trolling
Snap Weights + Stickbaits
4–5" suspending or slow-floating stickbait
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
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 1998 survey
Jail is a 170 acre lake located about five miles northeast of the City of Pine River, in Crow Wing County. There is no public access. Resort access is available. Development is relatively low with about 6.5 homes/cabins per shoreline mile in 1998. Two resorts were also present. The lake has a maximum depth of 22 feet and about 67% of the surface area is less than 15 feet deep. Water is classified as moderately hard and phosphorus fertility is also moderate. Water clarity was about average for the area in 1998. The lake had a rather diverse aquatic plant community and submergent plants were found to a depth of 10 feet.Test netting was done in June of 1998. Previous nettings were done in early September of 1966 and June of 1983. Northern pike was the most abundant gamefish. Catches were in the "high" category when compared to similar type lakes. Pike ranged from 17-29 inches and size averaged 21 inches and 2.8 lbs. Several age classes were present in roughly equal abundances and growth was good. Largemouth bass were sampled only by shoreline seine. Bluegill was caught in "high" numbers and average size was about 6.5 inches. About 37% were 7.0 inches or more in length. Several age classes were present and growth rate was fast compared to other similar type lakes. Black crappie was very abundant in 1983 but had only "average" abundance in 1998. Two age classes were sampled in trap nets. A few smaller crappies were sampled by gill net. Yellow perch is an important forage base for gamefish. Perch abundance was "high" again in 1998. Two fairly strong year classes provided the bulk of the perch sample and growth was good. Other species sampled included black bullhead, yellow bullhead, bowfin (dogfish), golden shiner, pumpkinseed and white sucker. Catch rates for these species were all in the "average" category when compared to similar type lakes.
Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.
Recent reports
Jail Lake fishing reports
Recent reports on Jail 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
Jail Lake depth map
Within 30 miles
Nearby lakes
- Lizzie Lake · 414 ac · 1.2 mi
- Ada Lake · 963 ac · 2.9 mi
- Hand Lake · 289 ac · 3.7 mi
- Blind Lake · 76 ac · 4.2 mi
- Hattie Lake · 588 ac · 4.7 mi
- Hay Lake · 364 ac · 4.9 mi
- Ponto Lake · 388 ac · 5.4 mi
- Island Lake · 184 ac · 6.4 mi
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
How deep is Jail Lake?
Jail Lake reaches 22 ft at its deepest point; about 62% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).
How big is Jail Lake?
Jail Lake covers 184 acres with about 2.3 miles of shoreline.
What fish are in Jail Lake?
Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 1998) record walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch.
Is Jail Lake stocked?
No stocking is on record for Jail Lake in the DNR's stocking database.
When was Jail Lake last surveyed?
The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Jail Lake in 1998, the most recent of 2 surveys on record. That is more than 20 years ago, so this page lists species without ratings.
Page updated .
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