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Best burbot lakes in Minnesota

162 Minnesota waters hold burbot, 74 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.

1. Lake Superior — Duluth and the Western Arm — 756 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, SteelheadWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 10 public access sites, 5 carry-in or shore-oriented
2. Rainy Lake — 161 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, SaugerWhy #2: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 5 public access sites
3. Leech Lake — 135 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 12 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
4. Mille Lacs Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 13 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
5. Lake Vermilion — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 15 public access sites
6. Lac la Croix — 168 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern PikeWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
7. Lake Winnibigoshish — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 8 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
8. Namakan Lake — 150 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, SaugerWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
9. Lake Kabetogama — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, SaugerWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 4 public access sites
10. Namakan Lake — 150 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern PikeWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
11. Cass Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 6 public access sites, 3 carry-in or shore-oriented
12. Burntside — 160 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 7 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
13. Gull Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
14. Otter Tail Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 6 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
15. Sand Point Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, SaugerWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
16. Basswood — 111 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #16: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
17. Namakan — 150 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern PikeWhy #17: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
18. Bowstring — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #18: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
19. Crooked — 165 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern PikeWhy #19: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
20. Fall — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #20: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
21. St. Croix River — 78 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White BassWhy #21: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 7 public access sites
22. Ottertrack — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #22: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
23. Big Sandy Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #23: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 5 public access sites
24. Bass — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #24: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
25. Loon — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern PikeWhy #25: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached

…plus 137 more Minnesota waters holding burbot.

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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.

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