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Best splake lakes in Minnesota

69 Minnesota waters hold splake, 11 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. Stocked brook × lake trout hybrid — the Shield-lake specialty that splits the difference: shallower than lakers, deeper than brookies, and a superb ice bite.

1. St. Louis River Estuary — 55 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White BassWhy #1: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 9 public access sites
2. Alder — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow PerchWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
3. Iron — 15 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
4. Larson — 170 ft max · survey depth data · Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Splake, PumpkinseedWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
5. Long — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
6. Dry — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Bluegill, Brown Trout, Cisco (Lake Herring), SplakeWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
7. Divide — 20 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, SplakeWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
8. Ojibway — 115 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #8: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
9. Echo — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, SplakeWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites, 3 carry-in or shore-oriented
10. Bean — 20 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, SplakeWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
11. High — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Bluegill, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, SplakeWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
12. Frear — 17 ft max · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, SplakeWhy #12: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
13. Little Dry — 25 ft max · survey depth data · Bluegill, Brown Trout, SplakeWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
14. Winchester — 50 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #14: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
15. Gilbert Pit — 443 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #15: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
16. Bear — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Lake Trout, SplakeWhy #16: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
17. Moss — 86 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brook TroutWhy #17: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
18. Portage — 55 ft max · SplakeWhy #18: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
19. Tofte — 73 ft max · Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, SplakeWhy #19: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
20. Kemo — 65 ft max · Lake Trout, Brook Trout, SplakeWhy #20: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
21. Pine — 34 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #21: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
22. Morgan — 46 ft max · Northern Pike, Brook Trout, Splake, PumpkinseedWhy #22: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
23. Pierz — 28 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, SplakeWhy #23: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
24. Esther — 35 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, SplakeWhy #24: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
25. Musquash — 26 ft max · SplakeWhy #25: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached

…plus 44 more Minnesota waters holding splake.

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When to fish splake in Minnesota

• Spring 5–25 ft — Ice-out through spring, splake patrol shoreline rock, points and inflows like oversized brookies.
• Summer 25–60 ft — Warm water pushes splake below the thermocline — deep breaks and humps, shallower than lakers in the same lake.
• Fall 10–35 ft — Mostly sterile but still hormone-driven — fall splake stage on rock shoals and points and eat aggressively.
• Winter 10–45 ft — Why they're stocked: an active, roaming winter predator — work basin edges and mid-depth humps, and hole-hop.

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 longnose gar 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 pumpkinseed lakes · best brown bullhead lakes · best lake sturgeon lakes

Splake elsewhere: Ontario · Michigan · Maine · New York · Saskatchewan · Wyoming · Utah · Colorado