What is the Best Fishing Lake near Minneapolis and St. Paul?
With hundreds of lakes and rivers near Minneapolis, answering this question is not straightforward. There are countless solid fishing lakes near the Twin Cities, and many of them could yield the limit. Surfing the web searching for the answer, I found a ton of different opinions. But the problem with opinions is that they are extremely biased, so how the heck was I supposed to know what the true answer was?
As a design engineer of jet engines, I enjoy data, especially when making important decisions like where to fish. So, instead of searching for an expert opinion, I decided to analyze 28 lakes and rivers around the Twin Cities area using Minnesota’s DNR's latest lake survey data from the Lake Finder tool. After an hour or so analyzing the data, I devised a method to rank the best fishing spots near the Twin Cities.
Of the 28 spots, my methodology ranks Red Rock Lake as the best fishing lake near Minneapolis and Saint Paul. While Red Rock Lake is a solid lake, it is only 96 acres and is dominated by Northern Pike. For some, this is ideal, but many may prefer the other highly ranked fishing spots in the area, which have a more diverse fish population as discussed below.
What is a Gill Net Survey?
Minnesota’s DNR takes fish surveys across the thousands of lakes they manage. They use Gill Nets, which are approximately 250 feet long, to capture fish. The fish are counted, weighed, measured and then thrown back. The DNR takes multiple samples across each lake which provides them data about whether the lakes are weak, healthy, or thriving fisheries. This data can also be used by anglers to determine which lake might be the perfect spot to catch the next state record!
My Methodology of Ranking the Best Fishing Spots Around the Twin Cities
Most anglers target Walleye, Northern Pike, Muskie, Crappie, Smallmouth or Largemouth Bass. These are the species I used to rank the top 28 lakes and rivers surrounding the Twin Cities. The DNR takes multiple Gill Net samples when they complete a survey. For bigger lakes, they take more samples in order to accurately understand the health of the lake. For this reason, I could not merely count the number of fish the Gill Nets produced in each lake. Instead, I took the average number of Walleye, Northern Pike, Muskie, Crappie, Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass the Gill Net captured per sample. Different locations on different lakes may yield more or less, but the hope is that all the samples averaged together would provide an accurate picture of how healthy the lake or river is. This allows me to compare small lakes to large lakes and get a sense of which ones are hot.
But if you are like me, then you do not just want to catch a ton of fish; you want to catch a ton of BIG fish. When analyzing lake and river fish surveys, it is important to find spots with big fish. I consider BIG FISH as Walleyes 20" or larger, Northern Pike 30" or larger, Bass 15" or larger, Muskie of any size, and Crappie 10” or larger. For each fish species, I calculated the percentage of BIG FISH captured. Then, I multiplied the CPUE (catch per Gill Net sample) by the percent BIG FISH. Then I added the total amount of BIG FISH per every Gill Net. This gave me the total amount of BIG game fish per Gill Net. I used this to rank the 28 best fishing spots around Minneapolis.
2024 Best Fishing Lakes and Rivers Near the Twin Cities
Using this methodology, I ranked the top fishing spots near Minneapolis / St. Paul. The lakes are ranked as seen in the table below.
Only the rivers had BIG Smallmouth Bass present. And only lakes Nokomis, Johanna, Bush, Bryant, and Gervais had Muskies reported.
Top 10 Fishing Spots Near Minneapolis / St. Paul
Size: 97 acres
Max Depth: 16 feet
Red Rock is a small lake located in Eden Prairie. It has a public boat access but a 10-hp motor restriction. While the lake ranks as the best fishing lake due to the abundant big Northern Pike population, electrofishing provided evidence of healthy Largemouth Bass. The survey reported no Walleyes, which may deter some from angling the lake. Overall, if you would enjoy big Northern and abundant Largemouth Bass, then Red Rock Lake in Eden Prairie is worth checking out.
Size: 557 acres
Max Depth: 59 feet
Lake Sarah, in Hennepin County Southeast of Rockford, is ranked the # 2 fishing lake near the Twin Cities because of its diversity of fish and larger Walleye and Pike. There is a public boat access on the South side of the lake. The lake has a healthy Pike, Crappie, and Largemouth Bass population. The Walleye population was only 3.12 fish per Gill Net, but the Walleye sampled were big. According to the survey data, Lake Sarah is a solid place to fish.
Size: 592 acres
Max Depth: 37 feet
Spring Lake in Scott County, just southwest of Prior Lake, ranks as the # 3 overall best fishing lake in the Twin Cities. It is a solid fishery for Walleye and Northern Pike. Spring Lake is the second-best Walleye lake in the metro area. The lake holds a large Pike and a decent Largemouth Bass and Crappie population. Spring Lake is one of the must-fish lakes near the Minneapolis / St. Paul area.
Size: 235 acres
Max Depth: 41 feet
Gervais Lake is a small lake at the corner of Interstate 35 and 694 just North of St. Paul. The DNR stocks the lake with Walleye and Muskie. Public access is available on Spoon Lake, and a channel provides boat access to Gervais. The lake earns the 4th best overall fishing rank near Minneapolis because of its Northern Pike abundance, decent Walleye population, lunker Muskies lurking, and average Largemouth and Crappie.
Size: 167 acres
Max Depth: 16 feet
Just South of Eden Prarie, Staring Lake is primarily managed for Northern Pike but also has a decent Crappie population. Even though it is a small 167-acre lake, there is public access on the North Side of the Lake. Northern Pike was captured at a whopping 13.8 / Gill Net! The average Pike measured 26.6 inches. There are a lot of BIG pike in this small lake and the healthy Crappie population is an added bonus.
Size: 375 acres
Max Depth: 37 feet
Lake Owasso is primarily managed for Walleye and Muskie. It sits Northeast of Roseville and is Just North and between the Twin Cities. In the Twin Cities, most recent fish surveys suggest Lake Owasso has the best Walleye population in the metro area, and there are many BIG Walleye in this lake. Owasso is ranked high because of the healthy Walleye numbers above the lake's historical average. If you plan on targeting Walleye, Lake Owasso is a great option!
Size: 164 acres
Max Depth: 51 feet
Cedar Lake is one of three lakes connected by channels in central Minneapolis. The lake has direct carry-in access for canoes and kayaks, but to bring a motorboat into the lake, you must put it in at Bde Maka Ska, travel through the channels through Lake of the Isle, and finally into Cedar. Cedar is primarily managed for Largemouth and Muskie, but it has a diverse fish population of decent Walleye, Northern Pike, Bass, and Crappie, so it ranks # 7 on my list. Despite getting plenty of pressure, Cedar Lake is a fun and convenient place to fish.
Upper Red Size: 832 acres
Max Depth: 58 feet
Lake Independence is West of the Twin Cities in Maple Plain, with boat access on the East end. The lake is primarily managed for Walleye and Muskies, but it also showed a healthy population of Crappie. The lake is stocked with Yellow Perch, so if you decide to visit, pack perch-colored tackle. The fish surveys over the last several years show that there are some large Muskies. Based on my ranking method, Lake Independence comes in at # 8.
Size: 341 acres
Max Depth: 87 feet
Lake Harriet is just South of Minneapolis and has public access on the Northside of the lake. The lake is restricted to electric motors only. Please check regulations with the city of Minneapolis for the latest restrictions. The lake is managed for Walleye and Muskie, but Lake Harriet scored points in my ranking system for its Largemouth, Pike, and Crappie populations. Overall, Lake Harriet is a great place to fish near downtown Minneapolis.
Size: 180 acres
Max Depth: 45 feet
Bryant Lake is located inside the Interstate 494 loop in the southwest corner of Minneapolis. The lake is managed for Walleye and Largemouth Bass. Bryant Lake showed a strong Walleye score which helped it break my top 10. The Walleye per Gill Net was ordinary, but since the Walleye measured an average 19.7 inches, it ranked higher than other lakes.
What is the Best Walleye Lake Near the Twin Cities?
Sarah, Spring, Owasso, Independence, Bryant, and Nokomis reported great Walleye surveys. Owasso ranked the best of these lakes with 2.93 BIG Walleye per Gill Net reported.
What is the Best Northern Pike Lake Near the Twin Cities?
Hands down Red Rock Lake ranked the best Northern Pike Lake near the Twin Cities. The lake posted 6 BIG Northern Pike Per Gill Net. These are huge numbers! Pike enthusiasts should circle Red Rock Lake and enjoy the lunkers in this lake.
What is the Best Largemouth Bass Lake Near the Twin Cities?
Typically, standard Gill Nets are not the best method for sampling Largemouth Bass. But using my methodology, Owasso and Harriet emerged as the best bass lakes. Harriet posted the highest Largemouth Bass numbers of all the lakes analyzed.
What is the Best Muskie Lake Near the Twin Cities?
Muskies are considered the “fish of ten thousand casts” and hard to sample. But there is one lake that had 0.5 Muskies per Gill Net and that was Johanna. It is only a 213 acre lake Northwest of St. Paul. If you fish this lake, you may cast less than 10,000 times before catching a Muskie!
What is the Best Place to Fish in Minnesota?
While these are awesome fishing lakes near Minneapolis, they are not the best fishing lakes in Minnesota. I analyzed data for 28 lakes near Minneapolis / St. Paul. But there are over 10,000 lakes, and many have much better numbers. Equally important to finding a lake with solid fishing statistics is finding the right place to fish on the lake. The right fishing spot on any of the top-ranked lakes could yield an unforgettable angling experience.
But my favorite area to fish in Minnesota is Ely. If you liked this content, check out my article ranking the top 19 fishing lakes near Ely, the best fishing spots near Duluth, or the top 10 Walleye lakes in Minnesota. Of these lakes, Basswood is my favorite lake. Basswood has some fantastic fishing numbers and gets very little pressure since it sits in the Boundary Waters, but check out my blog to find out the lakes ranked even higher.
Happy fishing!
References
Fisheries, M. a. (2024, January 26). Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved from LakeFinder: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html