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Best splake lakes in Minnesota

78 Minnesota waters list splake (official records or labelled estimates), 28 mapped with survey or official-chart depth data. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality, leading with the waters in our reviewed search catalog — 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. Trout — 150 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
3. Loon — 210 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, BluegillWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
4. Greenwood — 100 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake TroutWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
5. Alder — 70 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow PerchWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
6. Birch — 60 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Lake TroutWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
7. Iron — 15 ft max · real survey depth contours · Walleye, Northern Pike, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
8. Larson — 170 ft max · real survey depth contours · Walleye, Northern Pike, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
9. Musquash — 26 ft max · real survey depth contours · SplakeWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
10. Ahsub — 70 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
11. Long — 110 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
12. Dry — 40 ft max · real survey depth contours · Bluegill, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
13. Hungry Jack — 70 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
14. Divide — 20 ft max · real survey depth contours · Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Muskellunge, Yellow PerchWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
15. Ojibway — 115 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
16. Dyers — 20 ft max · real survey depth contours · Northern Pike, Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #16: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
17. Echo — 60 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Yellow PerchWhy #17: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites, 3 carry-in or shore-oriented
18. Bean — 20 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, SplakeWhy #18: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
19. High — 60 ft max · real survey depth contours · Bluegill, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, SplakeWhy #19: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
20. Little Dry — 25 ft max · real survey depth contours · Bluegill, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Cisco (Lake Herring)Why #20: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
21. Winchester — 50 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #21: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
22. Gilbert Pit — 443 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #22: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
23. Bear — 60 ft max · real survey depth contours · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, SplakeWhy #23: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
24. Cub — 39 ft max · real survey depth contours · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, SplakeWhy #24: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
25. Tofte — 73 ft max · Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, SplakeWhy #25: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site

…plus 53 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