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Best yellow perch lakes in Minnesota

1910 Minnesota waters hold yellow perch, 1908 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 premier eating panfish. Roams soft-bottom flats and weed edges in schools — a daytime biter.

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. Big Stone Lake — 15 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
7. Lake Winnibigoshish — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
8. Lake Kabetogama — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
9. Traverse — 10 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
10. Namakan Lake — 150 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike
11. Upper Red Lake — 15 ft max · Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie, Yellow Perch
12. Cass Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
13. Birch — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
14. Lake Minnetonka — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
15. Lac qui Parle Lake — 10 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie, Channel Catfish
16. Pokegama Lake — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
17. Burntside — 160 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
18. Gull Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
19. Otter Tail Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
20. Dead — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
21. Pelican — 35 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
22. Sand Point Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
23. Swan — 3 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Bluegill
24. Bowstring — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
25. Trout — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike

…plus 1885 more Minnesota waters holding yellow perch.

When to fish yellow perch in Minnesota

• Spring 3–12 ft — Spawning runs to shallow weeds and gravel — find the school, stay on it.
• Summer 10–30 ft — Schools slide deeper to soft-bottom flats and deep weedlines.
• Fall 12–35 ft — Jumbo perch pod up on deep basin flats feeding on invertebrates.
• Winter 15–35 ft — A premier ice-fishing target — deep mud flats, small jigs.

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 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

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