DNR survey data · statewide
6 Overlooked Northern Pike Lakes in Minnesota
6 northern pike lakes that fish better than their reputations, picked from 3,109 surveyed Minnesota lakes using DNR catch rates and fish sizes.
By David Berget · Published August 17, 2026 · Updated September 22, 2026
The DNR has recorded northern pike in 3,109 Minnesota lakes. The 6 below get little attention, but their survey numbers are strong, and each one has public boat access, a ramp or a carry-in.
The lakes with the most northern pike are usually not the lakes with the biggest northern pike. Some of these made the list for how many fish the DNR caught and some for how big they were. The label on each lake says which.
Big fish. 12% of the northern pike measured here were 30 inches or better, an unusually high rate for lakes like this.
- 296 acres
- 20 ft deep
- biggest 39 in
- surveyed 2024
Numbers and size. The DNR caught 18.7 northern pike per gill net, and about 1 in 156 of them went 38 inches or better, an unusually high rate for lakes like this.
- 280 acres
- 54 ft deep
- biggest 39 in
- surveyed 2024
Big fish. About 1 in 192 northern pike measured here went 38 inches or better, an unusually high rate for lakes like this.
- 533 acres
- 15 ft deep
- biggest 33 in
- surveyed 2022
Big fish. 7% of the northern pike measured here were 30 inches or better, a high rate for lakes like this.
- 1,359 acres
- 9 ft deep
- biggest 32 in
- surveyed 2023
Big fish. 7% of the northern pike measured here were 30 inches or better, a high rate for lakes like this.
- 156 acres
- 30 ft deep
- biggest 44 in
- surveyed 2025
Big fish. About 1 in 238 northern pike measured here went 38 inches or better, an unusually high rate for lakes like this.
- 310 acres
- 27 ft deep
- biggest 38 in
- surveyed 2024
How these northern pike lakes were picked
Gill nets catch pike easily, and the DNR's moderate mark is only 10 northern pike per net. Plenty of lakes full of small pike get past it. That is why the share of pike 30 inches or longer counts for more than the catch rate on this list. Both numbers come from DNR net surveys, not angler reports.
Of the 3,109 lakes with northern pike on record, 1,726 are under 60 feet deep with at least 50% of their water in the shallows, where most of the food grows. From those we set aside the lakes already on our list of the state's best northern pike water, since they get plenty of attention. Then we kept only lakes surveyed since 2016 that met the catch-rate mark above and have public boat access, and listed each body of water once. These 6 scored best of what was left. The full method is on how the grades work.