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Best muskellunge lakes in Minnesota

125 Minnesota waters hold muskellunge, 123 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 fish of 10,000 casts. Apex predator that shadows weed edges, rock and open-water bait schools.

1. Rainy Lake — 161 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
2. Lake of the Woods — 36 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
3. Leech Lake — 135 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
4. Mille Lacs Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
5. Lake Vermilion — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
6. Lake Winnibigoshish — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
7. Lake Kabetogama — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
8. Namakan Lake — 150 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike
9. Cass Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
10. Lake Minnetonka — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
11. Gull Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
12. Lake Minnewaska — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
13. Big Sandy Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
14. West Battle Lake — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
15. Boy — 45 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
16. Roosevelt — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
17. Lake Miltona — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
18. Lake Bemidji — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
19. Crane Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
20. Deer — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
21. North Lida — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
22. Ida — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
23. Green Lake — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
24. Big — 35 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
25. Forest Lake — 35 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie

…plus 100 more Minnesota waters holding muskellunge.

When to fish muskellunge in Minnesota

• Spring 3–12 ft — Post-spawn fish recover in shallow, warming bays — smaller baits, slower work.
• Summer 8–25 ft — Deep weedlines, rock points and open-water humps near bait schools.
• Fall 8–30 ft — The trophy season: big baits worked slow on steep rock and remaining green weeds.
• Winter 15–35 ft — Mostly dormant; deep basins adjacent to structure.

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 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 burbot lakes · best rock bass lakes · best cisco (lake herring) lakes · best splake lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes · best brown bullhead lakes · best lake sturgeon lakes

Muskellunge elsewhere: Ontario · Michigan · Montana · Wyoming · North Dakota · Iowa · Indiana · Ohio · Utah · Wisconsin · Kentucky · Illinois · West Virginia · New Jersey · Pennsylvania