DNR survey data · statewide
6 Overlooked Smallmouth Bass Lakes in Minnesota
6 smallmouth bass lakes that fish better than their reputations, picked from 730 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 smallmouth bass in 730 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 smallmouth bass are usually not the lakes with the biggest smallmouth bass. 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.
Numbers and size. The DNR caught 45 smallmouth bass per hour of electrofishing, and about 1 in 333 of them went 20 inches or better, a high rate for lakes like this.
- 289 acres
- 28 ft deep
- biggest 18 in
- surveyed 2024
Lots of fish. The DNR caught 40.9 smallmouth bass per hour of electrofishing, above the high mark of 40.
- 67 acres
- 32 ft deep
- biggest 18 in
- surveyed 2016
- carry-in access only
Big fish. 41% of the smallmouth bass measured here were 15 inches or better.
- 2,730 acres
- 18 ft deep
- biggest 17 in
- surveyed 2024
Big fish. 43% of the smallmouth bass measured here were 15 inches or better.
- 388 acres
- 39 ft deep
- biggest 19 in
- surveyed 2025
Big fish. About 1 in 357 smallmouth bass measured here went 20 inches or better, a high rate for lakes like this.
- 341 acres
- 28 ft deep
- biggest 17 in
- surveyed 2023
Quiet water. The DNR caught 32.9 smallmouth bass per hour of electrofishing, above the moderate mark of 20.
- 1,142 acres
- 10 ft deep
- biggest 17 in
- surveyed 2025
How these smallmouth bass lakes were picked
The DNR counts smallmouth on the same shoreline electrofishing runs as largemouth, but the moderate mark is much lower: 20 smallmouth bass per hour, where largemouth need 50. The lower mark reflects the gear. Smallmouth hold on rock and in current, where the crew reaches fewer of them, so each fish counted means more. Quality size is 15 inches. All of these numbers are survey counts, not fishing reports.
Of the 730 lakes with smallmouth bass on record, 295 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 smallmouth bass 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.