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Best pumpkinseed lakes in Minnesota

1409 Minnesota waters hold pumpkinseed, 1409 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 brilliant little sunfish of weedy northern bays — a snail-crunching shallow-water resident that outnumbers bluegill across the east and Canada.

1. Leech Lake — 135 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
2. Mille Lacs Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
3. Lake Vermilion — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
4. Big Stone Lake — 15 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
5. Lake Winnibigoshish — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
6. Lake Kabetogama — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
7. Namakan Lake — 150 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike
8. Cass Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
9. Lake Minnetonka — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
10. Pokegama Lake — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
11. Burntside — 160 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
12. Gull Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
13. Otter Tail Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
14. Dead — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
15. Pelican — 35 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
16. Sand Point Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
17. Bowstring — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
18. Trout — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
19. Lake Minnewaska — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
20. Lake Osakis — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
21. Lake Shetek — 10 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
22. Whiteface Reservoir — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
23. Bass — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
24. North Long Lake — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
25. Star — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie

…plus 1384 more Minnesota waters holding pumpkinseed.

When to fish pumpkinseed in Minnesota

• Spring 1–8 ft — Spawning colonies carpet warm, protected bays — small baits dropped on the beds get instant attention.
• Summer 2–10 ft — Docks, pads and weed flats — pumpkinseeds hold tighter to vegetation than bluegill and love snails and nymphs.
• Fall 4–14 ft — Schools tighten on the last green weeds — find healthy cabbage near a drop and the school is there.
• Winter 6–18 ft — A staple ice panfish — soft-bottom flats just outside the deepest green weeds; downsize and watch for lift bites.

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

Pumpkinseed elsewhere: Michigan · New Hampshire · Montana · New York