Minnesota · Wright County

Mink Lake Fishing guide

Mink Lake sits in Wright County, Minnesota, and covers 280 acres, reaching 39 ft at its deepest point. Secchi readings average around 1.8 ft of visibility. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 20 times, most recently in 2025, with walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill in the nets.

Open the live map → Survey data

Depth to 39 ft · top 5 summer marks

Surface280 ac

Max depth39 ft

Mean6.4 ft

Clarity1.8 ft

Littoral99%

Surveyed2025

How to fish Mink Lake through the year

Northern pike

Spring: Pike are in the shallow bays and along new weed growth. In 1.8 ft of visibility, they sit shallower than you think.
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 99% 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.

Walleye

Spring: Walleye are shallow, on and just off the spawning flats and the first green weeds. In 1.8 ft of visibility, they sit shallower than you think.
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 99% 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.

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	Walleye	Largemouth bass
2021	37"	26"	19"
2016	35"	28"	20"
2011	32"	27"	19"
2006	36"	23"	19"
2005	32"	26"	18"
2004	30"	22"	18"
2003	30"	21"	20"
2002	23"	21"	18"

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 · Muskie & pike

Soft Rubber (Bull Dawg / Medusa)

10" soft rubber body bait

3–25 ftslow

Shop musky rubber →

Walleye · Live bait

Live-Bait (Lindy) Rig + Leech/Crawler

jumbo leech or half a nightcrawler

8–35 ftslow

Shop octopus hooks →

Walleye · Trolling

Leadcore Line + Crankbaits

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

15–45 fttrolling

Shop deep-diving crankbaits →

Largemouth bass · Hardbaits

Hollow-Body Frog

3–3.5" hollow-body frog

0–6 ftslow

Shop hollow-body frogs →

Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Texas-Rigged Worm

7" ribbon-tail or straight-tail plastic worm

1–25 ftdead slow

Shop plastic worms →

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
2024	Walleye	900 fingerlings · 771 yearlings
2022	Walleye	3,815 fingerlings · 166 yearlings · 34 adults
2020	Walleye	4,225 yearlings
2018	Walleye	46 fingerlings · 438 yearlings · 193 adults
2016	Walleye	150 fingerlings · 633 yearlings

MN DNR · in their words

From the 2025 survey

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Mink Lake was conducted on August 5th, 2025, by Area Fisheries staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 10 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample 1 station, and a 15-foot seine was used at 4 stations. Five stations were not seined due to deep water and dense lilies. Nearshore sampling captured 5 species of fish including 0 species that are intolerant of disturbance and 0 that are tolerant of disturbance, though one tolerant species was captured in gill nets (i.e., Common Carp).

The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from an August 2021 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Common Carp). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website.

Read the full DNR narrative

Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Mink Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score above the general use impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings which indicated that Mink Lake is fully supporting aquatic life. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Mississippi River - St. Cloud watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Mink Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.

Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.

Recent reports

Mink Lake fishing reports

Recent reports on Mink 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

Wright County reports

Public water access

Getting on the water

Mink/Somers Lake (trailer launch)

DNR bathymetry

Mink Lake depth map

Mink Lake depth contour map, Wright 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

Somers Lake · 151 ac · 0.5 mi
Cedar Lake · 790 ac · 1.8 mi
Millstone Lake · 200 ac · 2 mi
Mary Lake · 196 ac · 2.2 mi
Indian Lake · 139 ac · 2.5 mi
Sugar Lake · 1,014 ac · 3.3 mi
Silver Lake · 83 ac · 3.5 mi
Upper Maple Lake · 633 ac · 3.8 mi

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How deep is Mink Lake?

Mink Lake reaches 39 ft at its deepest point with a mean depth of 6.4 ft; about 99% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).

How big is Mink Lake?

Mink Lake covers 280 acres with about 5.8 miles of shoreline.

How clear is the water in Mink Lake?

DNR Secchi readings on Mink Lake average 1.8 ft of visibility, on the stained end for a Minnesota lake.

What fish are in Mink Lake?

Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2025) record walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch.

Is Mink Lake stocked?

Yes. The DNR stocked walleye in 2024; the stocking table on this page lists every year back to 2016.

Does Mink Lake have a public access?

Yes. Mink Lake has one public access site: Mink/Somers Lake (trailer launch).

How big do northern pike get in Mink Lake?

The biggest northern pike measured in recent DNR surveys taped 37"; the size-history table on this page tracks the biggest fish in each survey back to 2002.

When was Mink Lake last surveyed?

The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Mink Lake in 2025, the most recent of 20 surveys on record.

Page updated September 22, 2026.

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

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