Minnesota · Washington County

Jane Lake Fishing guide

Jane Lake is a 158-acre lake in Washington County, Minnesota, reaching 39 ft at its deepest point. Secchi readings average around 17.2 ft of visibility. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 16 times, most recently in 2019, with walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill in the nets. That survey is 7 years old now.

Open the live map → Survey data

Depth to 39 ft · top 5 summer marks

Surface158 ac

Max depth39 ft

Mean13 ft

Clarity17.2 ft

Littoral66%

Surveyed2019

How to fish Jane Lake through the year

Northern pike

Spring: Pike are in the shallow bays and along new weed growth. At 17.2 ft of clarity, fish them deeper and lighter than usual.
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 66% 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.

Largemouth bass

Spring: Largemouth are moving up into the warming bays and flats, staging around wood, docks and new weeds to spawn. At 17.2 ft of clarity, fish them deeper and lighter than usual.
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 66% 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.

Size history

Biggest fish by survey year

Survey year	Northern pike	Largemouth bass	Bluegill
2019	29"	18"	7"
2013	35"	18"	7"
2007	38"	19"	8"
2002	38"	15"	7"
2000	28"	17"	7"
1994	32"	19"	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:

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 · Jigs & bladed

Inline Spinner (Mepps/Blue Fox)

#2–#4 in-line spinner

1–10 ftmoderate

Shop inline spinners →

Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Texas-Rigged Worm

7" ribbon-tail or straight-tail plastic worm

1–25 ftdead slow

Shop plastic worms →

Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Free Rig

Creature bait or magnum finesse worm

8–30 ftdead slowweedless

Shop creature baits →

Bluegill · Soft plastics

Tungsten Jig + Micro Plastic

1–1.5" micro plastic

2–15 ftdead slow

Shop micro plastics →

Bluegill · Live bait

Clip-On Bobber + Worm

half to whole garden nightcrawler

1–8 ftdead slow

Shop light-wire hooks →

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 2019 survey

Jane Lake is a mesotrophic, class 24 lake that has a maximum depth of 39 feet. Surface acreage is 145 acres with 104 acres 15 ft. or less in depth. Largemouth Bass is the primary management species. A catch and release regulation for Largemouth has been in place since 1997. No stocking of fish has occurred in recent history. The lake was surveyed with trap nets, gill nets, and electrofishing in June 2019. The previous survey was conducted in 2013.

Largemouth Bass were sampled by nighttime electrofishing at a rate of 68.3 fish per hour. This is higher than the two previous surveys which had just over 40 fish per hour but it is far less than surveys from 2004 and earlier. Mean weight of 1.2 lb was typical relative to previous surveys. All sizes of fish between 6 and 19 inches were well represented. The average length sampled was 12.4 inches. During all previous surveys, electrofishing was conducted during the daytime, which may have influenced differences in catch.

Read the full DNR narrative

Northern Pike were sampled at a rate of 11.8 fish per gill net. Although this is the lowest catch in the last several surveys, it is still considerably higher than the lake class average. A mean weight of 1.4 lb is low for the lake class and is typical relative to previous surveys. The majority of Pike ranged from 13 to 24 inches in length. The average length was 18.2 inches and the largest individual measured 29.9 inches.

Trap nets sampled Bluegills at a rate of 7.7 fish per net which is lower than any previous survey. Recent surveys have sampled Bluegills at a rate 5 to 10 times higher. Mean weight of 0.11 lb is also low, below the typical range for the lake class but is typical for the lake. The average Bluegill length was 5 inches and the largest fish sampled was 7.7 inches long.

Black Crappies were sampled at low rates in both gill nets (1.2 fish per net) and trap nets (0.9 fish per net). Mean weight for both gears was high relative to similar lakes. Most fish sampled measured between 7 and 10 inches in length with an average of 8.6 inches in gill nets. The largest Crappie sampled was something of an outlier at 13 inches.

Other species sampled included: Black Bullhead, Brown Bullhead, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Bullhead.

Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.

Recent reports

Jane Lake fishing reports

Recent reports on Jane 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

Washington County reports

Public water access

Getting on the water

Lake Jane (trailer launch)

DNR bathymetry

Jane Lake depth map

Jane Lake depth contour map, Washington County, Minnesota — Depth contours to 39 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

Olson Lake · 87 ac · 0.9 mi
DeMontreville Lake · 157 ac · 1 mi
Elmo Lake · 257 ac · 2.8 mi
Silver Lake · 76 ac · 3.3 mi
Lost Lake · 22 ac · 3.3 mi
Casey Lake · 12 ac · 4.4 mi
Beaver Lake · 86 ac · 4.8 mi
Tanners Lake · 74 ac · 5 mi

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How deep is Jane Lake?

Jane Lake reaches 39 ft at its deepest point with a mean depth of 13 ft; about 66% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).

How big is Jane Lake?

Jane Lake covers 158 acres with about 2 miles of shoreline.

How clear is the water in Jane Lake?

DNR Secchi readings on Jane Lake average 17.2 ft of visibility, clear water for a Minnesota lake.

What fish are in Jane Lake?

Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2019) record walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, sauger.

Is Jane Lake stocked?

No stocking is on record for Jane Lake in the DNR's stocking database.

Does Jane Lake have a public access?

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

How big do northern pike get in Jane Lake?

The biggest northern pike measured in recent DNR surveys taped 35"; the size-history table on this page tracks the biggest fish in each survey back to 1994.

When was Jane Lake last surveyed?

The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Jane Lake in 2019, the most recent of 16 surveys on record. A survey that old is a starting point, not a current reading.

Page updated September 22, 2026.

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

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