Minnesota · Crow Wing County

Smith Lake Fishing guide

Q: How deep is Smith Lake?

Smith Lake reaches 54 ft at its deepest point; about 37% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).

Q: How big is Smith Lake?

Smith Lake covers 491 acres with about 6.8 miles of shoreline.

Q: How clear is the water in Smith Lake?

DNR Secchi readings on Smith Lake average 13.5 ft of visibility, clear water for a Minnesota lake.

Q: What fish are in Smith Lake?

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

Q: Is Smith Lake stocked?

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

Q: How big do largemouth bass get in Smith Lake?

The biggest largemouth bass measured in recent DNR surveys taped 16"; the size-history table on this page tracks the biggest fish in each survey back to 1997.

Q: When was Smith Lake last surveyed?

The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Smith Lake in 2025, the most recent of 8 surveys on record.

Smith Lake covers 491 acres in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, reaching 54 ft at its deepest point. Secchi readings average around 13.5 ft of visibility. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 8 times, most recently in 2025, with walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill in the nets.

Open the live map → Survey data

Depth to 54 ft · top 5 summer marks

Surface491 ac

Max depth54 ft

Clarity13.5 ft

Littoral37%

Surveyed2025

How to fish Smith 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. At 13.5 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. On a lake that drops to 54 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.

Northern pike

Spring: Pike are in the shallow bays and along new weed growth. At 13.5 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. On a lake that drops to 54 ft, check the deep edge of that structure too.
Fall: Pike are on the last green weeds and the breaks beside them, feeding heavily as the water drops.

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	Largemouth bass	Northern pike	Bluegill
2022	16"	31"	8"
2010	14"	37"	8"
1997	18"	36"	8"

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:

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 →

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 →

Bluegill · Live bait

Clip-On Bobber + Worm

half to whole garden nightcrawler

1–8 ftdead slow

Shop light-wire hooks →

Bluegill · Soft plastics

Tungsten Jig + Micro Plastic

1–1.5" micro plastic

2–15 ftdead slow

Shop micro plastics →

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 2025 survey

Minnesota DNR Fisheries Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment program staff conducted an assessment of lakeshore habitat on Smith Lake on September 3rd 2025, following the Score the Shore survey protocols. The assessment consisted of 55 survey sites evenly spaced 200 meters around the lake. Assessments were made in three habitat zones: Shoreline Zone (the shore-water interface to the top of the natural bank), Shoreland Zone (land-ward from shoreline to development structure or 100 feet), and Aquatic Zone (lake-ward 50 feet of shoreline). The average lakewide habitat score was 74.8 (+/- 3.9) out of 100 possible. A score of 74.8 indicates the lakewide shoreline condition is Moderate (70-79.9). Approximately 35 percent of the sites were developed with a mean score of 43.0 (+/- 6.3) indicating shoreline habitat quality of developed sites is Very Poor (<50), while undeveloped sites had a mean score of 91.7 (+/- 1.0) with High (85-91.9) habitat quality.

Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.

Recent reports

Smith Lake fishing reports

Recent reports on Smith 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

Crow Wing County reports

DNR bathymetry

Smith Lake depth map

Smith Lake depth contour map, Crow Wing County, Minnesota — Depth contours to 54 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

Barbour Lake · 56 ac · 0.9 mi
Holt Lake · 164 ac · 1.2 mi
Camp Lake · 534 ac · 2.1 mi
Borden Lake · 1,011 ac · 2.8 mi
Whitefish Lake · 709 ac · 4.6 mi
Erskine Lake · 182 ac · 4.6 mi
Round Lake · 737 ac · 5.6 mi
Turtle Lake · 108 ac · 6.2 mi

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How deep is Smith Lake?