Many of the lakes in the Marcell, Minnesota area offer some good fishing for northern pike. On many of the lakes, you can target pike and expect to catch good numbers of them with some trophy size fish as well. Pike in the 5 to 10 pound range are fairly common and fish up to 20 pounds are possible.
Take a look below to learn more about the area lakes that have northern pike in them.
Bello Lake
Bello Lake is located about four miles north of Marcell, MN, within the Chippewa National Forest. Largemouth bass, black crappie, and bluegill are the species that are managed by the DNR in Bello Lake. Good numbers of largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill are available in this lake. Other fish include rock bass, perch and walleye.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Big Dick Lake
Big Dick Lake is located about five miles northeast of Marcell, MN, and within the Chippewa National Forest. The lake is 249 acres with a maximum depth of 20 feet and about 3 miles of shoreline. There is a U.S. Forest Service carry-in access in the northeast corner. This lake has catchable numbers of a variety of fish with some big fish too. Northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, rock bass and perch are available in Big Dick Lake.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Big Island Lake
Big Island Lake is a 238 acre lake located in the Chippewa National Forest north of Grand Rapids, MN. The lake has a maximum depth of 42 feet and there is a public access (U.S. Forest Service) located on the northwest side of the lake. This lake has a variety of fish such as largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye, bluegill, crappie and perch. Anglers typically fish this lake for bass and panfish, but there are also good numbers of northern pike in here.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Big Ole Lake
Big Ole Lake is a 179-acre lake in central Itasca County within the Big Fork River watershed. This lake has a maximum depth of 65 feet and a forest service carry-down access is located on the northeast shoreline. There are good numbers of northern pike and bluegill in the lake to go along with some largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, crappie and perch.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Big Too Much Lake
Big Too Much Lake is located just north of Talmoon, MN in the Chippewa National Forest and the Big Fork River watershed. The lake has a surface area of 232 acres and a maximum depth of 95 feet. There is a concrete ramp with boat access at the northwest corner of the lake. It is maintained by the US Forest Service. This lake has been a good lake for northern pike and largemouth bass. Other species of fish include bluegill, crappie, perch, rock bass and walleye.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Bowstring Lake
Bowstring Lake is a popular fishing lake with 4 public accesses, several resorts, and moderate shoreline development. The fishing is very good for walleye, crappie and perch with catchable numbers of northern pike as well. The Minnesota DNR indicates that crappie and walleye are the primary species of management with northern pike and yellow perch as secondary species.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Burns Lake
Burns Lake is a 144-acre lake in central Itasca County within the Big Fork River watershed. Burns Lake is located approximately 3 miles northeast of Marcell, MN. It has a maximum depth of 100 feet. A forest service gravel access is located on the southeast shoreline. Burns Lake has good numbers of largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill. Other fish include crappie, perch and rock bass.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Caribou Lake
Caribou Lake is located 6 miles south of Marcell, MN in the Big Fork River watershed. The lake has a surface area of 240 acres and a maximum depth of 152 feet. There is a US Forest Service public access on the southwest shore off State Hwy #38. Caribou Lake has been managed for lake trout. There are some other species of fish in the lake though. Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, rock bass and perch are also available.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Fox Lake
Fox Lake is a small lake near Marcell, Minnesota that is known for having some decent fishing for a variety of species. Anglers can target largemouth bass, northern pike and panfish on Fox Lake. There is one resort on this lake called Fox Lake Resort.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Grave Lake
Grave Lake is primarily managed for bluegill, walleye, northern pike and largemouth bass. There aren’t too many lakes that are managed for bluegill, but Grave Lake has experimented with a possession limit of just 5 sunfish. The intent was to produce a quality bluegill fishery here. Crappie, rock bass and perch are also available in the lake.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Hatch Lake
Hatch Lake is known as a good smallmouth bass fishing lake. Other species of fish in this lake are northern pike, largemouth bass, walleye, bluegill, rock bass, crappie and perch.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Jack the Horse Lake
Jack the Horse Lake is a 383 acre lake located northeast of Marcell, MN. The lake has a carry-in access off of U.S. Forest Service road 2182. The Minnesota DNR hasn’t given a status of the fishery since 2004, but back then, there netting results showed good numbers of northern pike, largemouth bass and bluegill. Other fish include crappie, rock bass, perch and walleye.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Jessie Lake
Jessie Lake covers 1,753 acres and it is located in northern Itasca County. The DNR’s lake management plan lists walleye and northern pike as the primary management species in this lake. Largemouth bass, perch, bluegill, crappie and rock bass are also available in Jesse Lake.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Little Bowstring Lake
Little Bowstring Lake is a 319 acre lake located 16 miles northeast of Deer River, MN. The lake has a county access on the south shore and low to moderate shoreline development. There are good numbers of northern pike and walleye in this lake. Bluegill, crappie, perch, largemouth bass and rock bass are also available.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Little Turtle Lake
Little Turtle Lake has a variety of fish to target. Good numbers of largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye and perch can be found in the lake. Other fish include bluegill, crappie and rock bass.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Maple Lake
Maple Lake is located in northern Itasca County, north of Marcell, MN. The lake has a concrete public access on the south shore. Walleye are the primary species of fish that is managed on this lake by the DNR, but there are plenty of other species of fish that you can catch on this lake. Anglers target northern pike, largemouth bass, walleye and bluegill. Perch and crappie are also available in small numbers in Maple Lake.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Natures Lake
The Minnesota DNR doesn’t have very much information on this lake. The DNR hasn’t done a status of this fishery since 1990. Back then, there was a good population of northern pike with some nice sized fish also. Walleye, perch, crappie and bullhead are also available.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
North Star Lake
North Star Lake is a good fishing lake located just south of Marcell, MN. The lake has one public access and moderate shoreline development. The DNR’s management plan indicates that muskie, northern pike, and walleye are their primary species of fish and largemouth bass are secondary. This lake has some quality sized northern pike, walleye and muskie. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are here in catchable numbers if you choose to fish for them. Crappie, bluegill, perch and rock bass are also available for anglers that like to target panfish.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Rice Lake
Rice Lake is an 817-acre lake located 4 miles northeast of Squaw Lake, MN. This lake is very shallow and it is known mostly for duck hunting and wild rice harvesting, however, anglers fish for walleye, northern pike, perch and sunfish in the spring.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Round Lake
Round Lake is a 2,828 acre lake located on the west side of Squaw Lake, MN. The lake has two public accesses and moderate shoreline development. This management plan for this lake indicates walleye as the primary species of fish and the secondary species are crappie and perch. This lake has a healthy population of northern pike, although, most of these fish do run on the smaller side according to the latest gill netting study by the Minnesota DNR. Bluegill and rock bass are also present in Round Lake.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Sand Lake
This lake has been known for having good numbers of walleye and northern pike with some decent sized walleye and a lot of smaller northern pike. Bluegill, rock bass, perch and crappie are also available in Sand Lake.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Spider Lake
Spider Lake is a very good fishing lake that is located about 8 miles southeast of Marcell, Minnesota. The lake is located in the Chippewa National Forest and has limited shoreline development. The DNR’s lake management plan indicates walleye, northern pike and muskellunge as the primary species of management with black crappie, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass as secondary species. Spider Lake is one of the better northern pike lakes to fish in this area with many big pike being caught here every year. Pike in the 5 to 10 pound range are common here with big fish up to and above 15 pounds very possible. Muskie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, crappie, perch and bluegill are also available in this lake.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Turtle Lake (Big Turtle Lake)
Turtle Lake is located about a mile north of Marcell, MN, within the Bigfork River Watershed and the Chippewa National Forest. The 2,052 acre lake has a maximum depth of 137 feet. Walleye and smallmouth bass are primary management species on this lake, while northern pike, black crappie, and largemouth bass are secondary management species. The smallmouth bass fishing on Turtle Lake is very good. There are good numbers of smallmouth bass here with a bunch of trophy sized smallies available. Perch, bluegill and other sunfish are here too.
MN DNR Lake Information Report
Using Leaders for Northern Pike
Prevent northern pike from biting you off with a leader. Many anglers like to use a steel leader and these do work fine with your bigger, faster-moving lures. They also work great when fishing in murky water.
To get more bites consistently though, you can’t go wrong with using mono or fluorocarbon leaders instead of the steel leaders. To save money, go with the mono leaders in murkier water. In clear waters, go with the fluorocarbon.
If you want more information these leaders, take a look here to learn more about northern pike leaders. We also tie them ourselves and you can purchase them here.
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.
