Cass Lake

MN · Cass

Stocked
20,696 acres mapped (USGS NHD)
52.9 miles of shoreline

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The pin marks the middle of the water, for directions. The shoreline on the map comes from USGS NHD.

At a glance

Acres: 20,696 acres
Shoreline: 52.9 miles of shoreline
County: Cass County
Last stocked: 2025
Species: Walleye

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Conditions

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Overview

Cass Lake, at nearly 16,000 acres, is the largest lake in the Cass Lake chain, which includes more than 25,000 acres of connected water. It lies north of Leech Lake and west of Lake Winnibigoshish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources describes a mix of broad, shallow flats and deeper water with plenty of underwater structure, and lists walleye, yellow perch and muskellunge as the most sought-after species. DNR's Bemidji area outlook names Cass among the larger lakes that are excellent choices on the walleye opener, and suggests focusing near inlets and outlets early in the season. As one of Minnesota's ten largest lakes, Cass is in DNR's large lake monitoring program. Its biologist oversees yearly fish population assessments, water quality monitoring and regular creel surveys. Lake acreage shown on this page comes from map data and may differ from DNR's figure.

Regulations

Check the current Minnesota fishing regulations for any special rules on Cass Lake and the Cass Lake chain: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/fishing/index.html

Stocking history

Species	Qty	Size	When
Walleye	589303	fingerlings, fry	2025

Gear for the fish stocked here

Walleye

Rod: Medium action spinning rod, 6 to 7.5 feet, for jigs and live bait. Medium to medium-heavy, 6.5 to 9 feet, for crankbaits and trolling.

Line: 6 to 10 lb for jigs and bait, 10 to 12 lb for crankbaits and trolling. Mono, fluorocarbon or braid all work.

Baits: minnows, nightcrawlers, leeches

Lures: lead-head jigs with 3 to 4 inch curly tail grub or shad plastics, blade baits, deep diving crankbaits

Full Walleye gear guide

Gear for every species

Likely species (watershed)

Bigmouth Shiner, Blacknose Dace, Blacknose Shiner, Bluntnose Minnow, Brassy Minnow, Brown Trout, Creek Chub, Emerald Shiner, Fathead Minnow, Finescale Dace, Golden Shiner, Iowa Darter, Johnny Darter, Logperch, Longnose Dace, Mimic Shiner, Mottled Sculpin, Muskellunge, Northern Redbelly Dace, River Shiner, Sand Shiner, Spotfin Shiner, Spottail Shiner, Western Blacknose Dace

Likely species come from USGS Aquatic GAP ranges for the whole watershed (HUC8). They show what may be here, not a count of this water.

Watch for stocking

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Nearby waters

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Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

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Some stocking records are adapted from LurePassion (formerly lurepassion.com) (normalized and matched to our waters), licensed CC BY 4.0. State agencies retain their own terms for the underlying records.