Best burbot lakes in Minnesota
161 Minnesota waters hold burbot, 160 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The freshwater cod that feeds at night under the ice — ugly, delicious and wildly underrated.
- Leech Lake — 135 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Mille Lacs Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Lake Vermilion — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Lake Superior — Duluth and the Western Arm — 756 ft max · Walleye, Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead
- Lake Winnibigoshish — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Lake Kabetogama — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
- Namakan Lake — 150 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike
- Cass Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Pokegama Lake — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Burntside — 160 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Gull Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Otter Tail Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Sand Point Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
- Bowstring — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
- Trout — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Whiteface Reservoir — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
- Brule — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Bass — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Loon — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
- Fall — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Star — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
- Ball Club — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
- Ottertrack — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Big Sandy Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- White Iron — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
…plus 136 more Minnesota waters holding burbot.
When to fish burbot in Minnesota
- Spring 25–70 ft — Post-spawn burbot slide back toward deep basins but still run shallow rock after dark.
- Summer 50–120 ft — Deep and sluggish in warm months — mostly a bycatch while jigging deep structure for lake trout.
- Fall 30–80 ft — Feeding picks up hard as the water cools — dead bait or glow spoons on deep rock at night.
- Winter 15–60 ft — Late-winter spawners stack on rock humps and shoals — glow jigs pounded on bottom after dark.
Also in Minnesota: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best white bass lakes · best sauger lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best flathead catfish lakes · best freshwater drum lakes · best common carp lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best rock bass lakes · best cisco (lake herring) lakes · best splake lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes · best brown bullhead lakes · best lake sturgeon lakes
Burbot elsewhere: New Hampshire · Montana · Wyoming · Alaska · Manitoba · Alberta