Minnesota · St. Louis County
Long Lake Fishing guide
Long Lake is a 199-acre lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota, reaching 51 ft at its deepest point. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 4 times, most recently in 2003, with walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill in the nets. That survey is 23 years old now.
DNR survey data
Fish species
The DNR last surveyed Long Lake in 2003. 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 Long 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 51 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.
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 51 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 26" | 19" | 36" |
| 1993 | 16" | — | 35" |
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
Walleye · Trolling
Leadcore Line + Crankbaits
4–5" mid-diving crankbait behind a long leadcore run
Largemouth bass · Hardbaits
Topwater Popper
2.5–3" concave-face popper
Largemouth bass · Hardbaits
Hollow-Body Frog
3–3.5" hollow-body frog
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 2003 survey
Long is a 209 acre lake with 88 (42%) acres of littoral area and a maximum depth of 51 feet. The lake is located seven miles east of Cotton, MN off the Munger-Shaw Road (#15) and has no designated public access. Primary management species from the 1994 Lake Management Plan were northern pike and secondary management species were bluegill and largemouth bass. Largemouth bass were sampled by electrofishing in the spring of 2003. Largemouth bass abundance of 96.7 per hour of electrofishing was above average compared to other lakes in the Duluth area. Mean length was 13.0 inches. Growth was slow with length at age four of 9.6 inches. Age analysis revealed strong 1994 and 1998 year-classes and all year-classes from 1991 through 1999 represented. Northern pike abundance of 13.7 per gillnet lift was above average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Mean length was 21.1 inches. Growth was slow with length at age four of 18.8 inches. Age analysis revealed strong 1998 and 1999 year-classes and all year-classes from 1993 through 2002 represented. Yellow perch abundance of 10.5 per gillnet lift was average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Mean length was 6.4 inches. Walleye abundance of 1.2 per gillnet lift was below average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Mean length of seven sampled walleye was 23.3 inches. Growth was slow with length at age four of 13.6 inches. Six of seven aged walleye were older than age eight. Bluegill abundance of 12.0 per trapnet lift was average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Mean length was 6.3 inches. Growth was slow with length at age four of 3.4 inches. Age analysis revealed strong 1995 and 1998 year-classes and all year-classes from 1993 through 1998 represented. Black crappie abundance of 0.6 per trapnet lift was below average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Mean length was 8.1 inches. Growth was average with length at age four of 7.1 inches. Age analysis revealed a strong 1999 year-class and four year-classes represented from 1994 through 2001. Yellow bullhead abundance of 28.0 per gillnet lift was above average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Mean length of yellow bullhead was 8.3 inches. Other fish species sampled include green sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish and white sucker.
Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.
Recent reports
Long Lake fishing reports
Recent reports on Long 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
Long Lake depth map
Within 30 miles
Nearby lakes
- Little Long Lake · 18 ac · 0.6 mi
- Schubert Lake · 212 ac · 3.1 mi
- Cameron Lake · 168 ac · 3.6 mi
- Wilson Lake · 56 ac · 4.1 mi
- Lower Comstock Lake · 160 ac · 4.3 mi
- Hart Lake · 49 ac · 4.9 mi
- Strand Lake · 330 ac · 4.9 mi
- Upper Comstock Lake · 267 ac · 5.5 mi
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
How deep is Long Lake?
Long Lake reaches 51 ft at its deepest point with a mean depth of 16 ft; about 44% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).
How big is Long Lake?
Long Lake covers 199 acres with about 3.6 miles of shoreline.
What fish are in Long Lake?
Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2003) record walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch.
Is Long Lake stocked?
No stocking is on record for Long Lake in the DNR's stocking database.
When was Long Lake last surveyed?
The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Long Lake in 2003, the most recent of 4 surveys on record. That is more than 20 years ago, so this page lists species without ratings.
Page updated .
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