There is some pretty good largemouth bass fishing in this area. Pelican Lake and Lake Vermilion stand out for sure with good numbers of them and some big bass too. You can find largemouth bass on some of the other lakes here too.
Pelican Lake
Pelican Lake is a good fishing lake right in the middle of Orr, Minnesota. This is a popular lake to stop at for a day for many anglers that are making the far drive from some of the states down south up into Canada. For those of you that plan on making a trip here for multiple days, there are a lot of fishing opportunities that will keep you busy here. The lake is known for its good bass fishing and panfish. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass have special regulations here and that has helped this lake become a very good lake for targeting quality-sized bass. You will find both species of fish here in fishable numbers. Most anglers target panfish on this lake. The crappie and bluegill fishery is very good here and it’s possible to fill a livewell with some nice-sized fish.
Northern pike fishing is also solid on this lake if you want to target them. Don’t expect to catch huge numbers of them here, but you will get some action if you fish for them. The fishing for walleye is tougher on this lake, but there are some walleye in the lake and some anglers do fish for them.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Lake Vermilion (West End)
The west end of Lake Vermilion is about a 25 minute drive from Orr, Minnesota. This part of the lake has clearer water and is much better if you’re here during windy conditions. This end of the lake doesn’t have as much offshore structure as you will find on the east end, but there are still plenty of islands here to go along with bays, points, neckdowns and many other areas to fish. With the clearer water, the weeds grow deeper on this side of the lake. The west end is also known as being better for largemouth bass and crappie, however, you will still find some walleye, northern pike, muskie, smallmouth bass and perch on this side of the lake.
Go to our Lake Vermilion Fishing page to learn more about the fishing here.
Ban Lake
Ban Lake is a smaller lake covering 389 acres. The lake is located about 7 miles east of Orr, Minnesota. It is a shallow lake that is primarily managed for panfish. Bluegill, crappie and northern pike are here in good numbers, so if you want to catch some fish, you will definitely be able to do so on this lake. Perch, largemouth bass and walleye are here in low numbers.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Elbow Lake
Elbow Lake is a Canadian shield lake with a lot of rock structure. The water is bog-stained and infertile. Because of this, the lake has low numbers of fish here, but there are walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, crappie and perch. This lake doesn’t receive a ton of fishing pressure.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Kjostad Lake
Kjostad Lake is a 438 acre lake that is located about 12 miles east of Orr, Minnesota. This lake has some deep water with a maximum depth of 50 feet. It supports a pretty diverse fishery and gets little angling pressure. Smallmouth bass are here in decent numbers. Largemouth bass are limited. Northern pike and walleye are here in low numbers, but there are some very big fish here. Bluegill, crappie and perch round out the panfish fishery.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Myrtle Lake
Myrtle Lake is an 876 acre lake about 8 miles east of Orr, Minnesota. This lake has a maximum depth of 20 feet with most of the lake less than 15 feet deep. There are good numbers of bluegill, crappie and perch in the lake. Anglers also target largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Swan Lake
Swan Lake is a small, shallow lake located about 4.5 miles north-northwest of Orr, Minnesota. Covering only 86 acres with only a maximum depth of 11 feet, most anglers won’t bother with coming here to fish. Small lakes like this are prone to large winter fish kills, however, since this lake is connected to Pelican Lake, which helps it become repopulated quicker. There are good numbers of crappie to go along with some bluegill, perch, largemouth bass and northern pike.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Best Baits for Largemouth Bass
Largemouth bass will eat so many different baits and there are so many different lures that are made for catching these fish. Anglers have more options than they really need, but since we have all these options, it’s nice to know about the different baits that are available.
Minnows, nightcrawlers and leeches are definitely the best live baits for largemouth bass. When it comes to artificial lures, you have so many options. Soft plastic worms, lizards, crayfish baits and minnows work great. Hard baits such as crankbaits, topwater lures, spinnerbaits, jigs and jerkbaits are also all awesome choices for largemouth bass.
To learn more, take a look at our pages below.
Best Live Baits for Largemouth Bass
Best Lures for Largemouth Bass
Best Rigs for Largemouth Bass
There are so many different rigs for largemouth bass. While you definitely don’t need to use all of them to consistently catch bass, it is important to learn how some of the rigs will help you fish certain areas or certain baits in a way to catch more fish. Most good bass anglers will use several different rigs in a variety of situations to consistently catch quality largemouth bass.
The standup jighead, Texas rig, drop shot rig, wacky rig and Carolina rig are definitely some of the best rigs for largemouth bass page.
Best Techniques for Largemouth Bass
There are many different techniques that are used for largemouth bass fishing. Casting a variety of baits to cover water is most popular, however, flipping & pitching is one of the best ways to catch bass around shallow water cover.
To learn more, take a look at our best techniques for largemouth bass page.
Learn More About Largemouth Bass
Our largemouth bass fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our largemouth bass fishing website to learn more.
