Most of the area lakes will have northern pike swimming in them. On many of the lakes, you are going to find good numbers of smaller pike while on some lakes, you will find low numbers, but some very nice pike and then a handful of lakes that give you the opportunity to catch good numbers of pike with some big pike too. It is not uncommon to see reports of anglers catching pike over 40 inches long on several of the lakes in this region.
Alder Lake
Alder Lake is a decent-sized lake covering more than 500 acres. It is managed primarily for lake trout. Anglers can also catch walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass and perch, but these other fish are here in limited numbers.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Caribou Lake
There are 3 lakes named Caribou Lake in Cook County, Minnesota. This Caribou Lake is a carry-in lake with access by portage trails from Clearwater Lake, Pine Lake and Moon Lake. It is a decent-sized lake covering more than 460 acres. Anglers target walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass. Whitefish are targeted through the ice in the winter.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Crystal Lake
Crystal is a medium-sized lake with some deep water and good fishing. It is managed primarily for lake trout. A fishable population of walleye is here too. Some smallmouth bass and northern pike are also caught in Crystal Lake. Panfish are here in low numbers with green sunfish and perch available.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Devil Track Lake
Devil Track Lake is a large lake covering more than 1,876 acres. This lake is managed for walleye and northern pike, however, pike are here in limited numbers. Walleye are more abundant and so are smallmouth bass.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
East Bearskin Lake
East Bearskin Lake is a popular lake that provides good fishing. It is a popular entry point for canoeists during the summer. If you’re coming here with a fishing boat, there is a 25 hp limit here since it is partially within the BWCA. It is a good lake for walleye and smallmouth bass. Lake trout, northern pike, perch and some sunfish are here too.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Greenwood Lake
Greenwood Lake is a large lake covering more than 2,000 acres. It has excellent water clarity and plenty of depth. It is managed as a lake trout lake. There are minimal numbers of smallmouth bass, northern pike, perch and brook trout.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Gunflint Lake
Gunflint Lake is a large lake covering over 4,000 acres. It has some very deep water and a diverse fishery. Anglers catch walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass and lake trout. Cisco and burbot are here too. Rock bass are the primary panfish, but yellow perch are also here in low numbers.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Gull Lake
Gull Lake is a smaller lake covering just less than 168 acres. The fishery consists mostly of northern pike, smallmouth bass and walleye. Panfish are here in small numbers too.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Hungry Jack Lake
Hungry Jack Lake is one of the better smallmouth bass lakes in the Gunflint Trail area. There is a special regulation here so all bass 12 inches or larger must be released, except that one fish over 20 inches may be kept. This has helped the bass fishery take off here. Lots of big bass are caught here from spring through fall.
There are decent numbers of walleye here too, but many anglers struggle here with the clear water. Low light conditions are key to catching walleye here consistently. Fish first thing in the morning, in the evening, at night and on cloudy days. Walleye will move very deep in the summer, but many fish will come up shallower to feed during the low light conditions.
This is one of the few lakes that offers good numbers of bluegill with some quality fish too. Perch are here in limited numbers. Pike are here in good enough numbers to target them, but they are not abundant in Hungry Jack Lake.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Iron Lake
Iron Lake is a smaller carry-in lake that covers a little more than 120 acres. The lake is managed for walleye and bluegill. Anglers can also target northern pike, rock bass and perch.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
John Lake
John Lake is a smaller carry-in lake that covers 190 acres. It is more of a northern pike and perch lake with some walleye and smallmouth bass in it too. There are some nice-sized northern pike in this lake, but most will be smaller.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Little Iron Lake
Little Iron Lake is a small carry-in lake. It is home to mostly northern pike and bluegill with minimal numbers of other fish species.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Long Lake
Long Lake is a smaller portage lake that covers just under 148 acres. Anglers can access Long Lake from a half mile portage trail connected to Pine Lake. This is a good lake if you want to catch a lot of northern pike. You won’t find too many big fish here, but there are good numbers of pike.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Loon Lake
Loon Lake is part of the headwaters for the Rainy River system. It discharges to that system via Crab Lake and Gunflint Lake. It is managed primarily for lake trout and smallmouth bass, but it also has northern pike, rock bass, bluegill and other sunfish.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Maraboeuf Lake
Maraboeuf Lake is a long lake that covers almost 860 acres of water. Anglers portage in from Saganaga Lake. You can also canoe in from the other direction via a channel that connects Devils Elbow Lake. Walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass are caught in this lake.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Mayhew Lake
Mayhew Lake is a small carry-in lake. It lies in the headwaters of the Rainy River draining to that system via Loon, Crab and Gunflint Lakes to the Granite River. Mayhew Lake is managed primarily for lake trout. Rainbow trout are now being stocked into the lake as well. Northern pike, perch and bluegill round out the fishery.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
McFarland Lake
McFarland Lake covers a little more than 385 acres. There is a DNR-owned public access on the northeast shoreline of the lake. The fishery consists of walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass and perch. There are good numbers of walleye and smallmouth bass, but it has good access and it isn’t a huge lake, so these fish get pressured more than many of the portage lakes in the area. If you put some time in and learn the lake, you may catch quite a few smallmouth bass and walleye with some pike and perch mixed in too. The anglers that have more success here tend to stick to live bait more than artificials.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Meeds Lake
Meeds Lake is located entirely inside the BWCA. You can access this lake by portage from Caribou Lake and Poplar Lake. Anglers can target northern pike, walleye and perch.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Moon Lake
Moon Lake is a smaller portage lake. It covers 148 acres and anglers can target northern pike, walleye and perch.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
North Fowl Lake
North Fowl Lake is a good-sized lake, however, it is very shallow compared to most of the other lakes in this area. The lake has a track record of good walleye and perch fishing with small northern pike and limited numbers of smallmouth bass. It is one of the better perch lakes in the area for size and big fish with 12 inch perch commonly caught here.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Northern Light Lake
Northern Light Lake is a smaller lake that covers 378 acres. It is a shallow lake that is mostly a northern pike and perch lake. There are good numbers of pike with some bigger fish available. Perch are here in good numbers too and there are some quality perch. Smallmouth bass, walleye and pumpkinseed round out the fishery, but they are here in smaller numbers.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Pine Lake
Pine Lake covers more than 2,100 acres. It is a large portage lake with lots of deep water and excellent water clarity. It used to be a lake trout, northern pike lake, but it has turned into a very good smallmouth bass lake with some walleye, very low numbers of lake trout, lots of whitefish and some perch.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Poplar Lake
Poplar Lake is 764 acre lake that is managed for walleye and northern pike. Crappie, whitefish, smallmouth bass and perch are here too.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Rush Lake
Rush Lake is located entirely within the BWCA. It is a northern pike lake with some burbot too.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Saganaga Lake
Saganaga Lake is a large lake covering more than 18,766 acres. It is one of the best lakes to fish along the Gunflint Trail, especially if you are looking for big fish. It is known for its walleye fishery with big fish up to and above 28 inches caught fairly regularly. Some fish above 30 inches are caught here too.
Northern pike, smallmouth bass, lake trout and whitefish are here in good numbers too. Most anglers will catch small to medium-sized pike, but if you come here to target big pike, you can catch some very big fish with pike up to and above 40 inches swimming in these waters. Anglers report good fishing for smallmouth bass with some 4 to 5 pounds caught every year. Lake trout are here in good numbers too.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Sea Gull Lake
Sea Gull Lake is a large lake covering almost 4,000 acres. It is a large, Canadian shield lake that has some very deep water. It is primarily managed for lake trout and walleye. Northern pike, smallmouth bass, whitefish and even some crappie are in the lake too.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
South Fowl Lake
South Fowl Lake is a large lake with shallow water and some very good fishing. It is a good numbers lake for walleye and perch. There are some good-sized perch here. Northern pike are here in fishable numbers, but most of them will be smaller. Smallmouth bass are available in limited numbers.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Stump Lake
Stump Lake is a smaller lake that is connected to Long Lake. It fishes just like Long Lake. There are good numbers of northern pike here, but not too many big fish. If you want to catch a lot of pike though, there are a lot of them in here.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Tucker Lake
Tucker Lake is a smaller portage lake with limited access. If you choose to make a trip here, you may catch walleye, northern pike, perch, bluegill and other sunfish.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
West Bearskin Lake
West Bearskin Lake covers more than 509 acres. The water is very clear and there is a lot of deep water here. The lake is managed for lake trout and smallmouth bass. Anglers can also catch northern pike, perch and sunfish, but they are here in limited numbers.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
West Pike Lake
West Pike Lake is a medium-sized lake and it is a carry-in lake with portage trails from Pine Lake, Clearwater Lake, East Pike Lake and Gogebic Lake. West Pike Lake is located entirely inside the BWCA. Lake trout are fairly abundant in this lake and there are decent numbers of smallmouth bass too.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
West Pope Lake
This is a small carry-in lake with limited roadside parking. Anglers target walleye, northern pike and perch.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Best Baits for Northern Pike
Northern pike are known for eating just about everything they can get the mouths on and there is definitely some truth to that. For the most part, if it swims, pike may eat it. There are some baits that definitely will catch more pike than others though. Spinners, crankbaits, spoons, swimbaits and soft plastics are some of the best lures for targeting pike. Live baits such as minnows and perch are great baits too.
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Best Rigs for Northern Pike
There are many different rigs you can use for northern pike, however, since pike are so aggressive, you really don’t need to use as many of them as you would if you were trying to get good at largemouth bass fishing. For most situations, you can keep it real simple with a jighead and a minnow or soft plastic bait. To learn about some of the rigs that you can use, take a look at our best rigs for northern pike page.
Best Techniques for Northern Pike
Anglers catch pike with many different techniques. Casting, trolling and drifting are most popular ways to target pike, but there are some other methods that also work well too.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for northern pike page.
Learn More About Northern Pike
Our northern pike fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our northern pike fishing website to learn more.
