Big Pine Lake (Otter Tail County)

Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56013000

Big Pine Lake (Otter Tail County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Big Pine Lake (Otter Tail County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 76 ft; surface area 4,728 acres, 2,386 littoral acres, 14.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.4 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, burbot, common carp, freshwater drum, hybrid sunfish, lake sturgeon, largemouth bass, northern pike, and 8 more.
• 3 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: June 2, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Otter Tail County, nearest town Perham; DNR lake number (DOW) 56013000.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 10/1/1978 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2025

Catch per net (CPUE) is the DNR survey's count per gill net or trap net set; higher means more of that species were sampled, not a fishing forecast. Top species per gear shown; where we have no verified common name for a DNR code, the code itself is shown.

Big Pine Lake is a 4,730-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in northeastern Otter Tail County approximately three miles east of Perham, MN. Big Pine Lake is part of the Otter Tail River Watershed and is connected to Little Pine and Rush Lakes via the Otter Tail River. The Otter Tail River inlet is located along the northwest shoreline while the outlet is located along the west shoreline of the lake. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of mixed hardwoods. The maximum depth of Big Pine Lake is 76 feet; however, fifty percent of the lake is less than 15 feet in depth. Historical Secchi disk readings have ranged from 4.5 to 8.5 feet. The shoreline of Big Pine Lake has been extensively developed. Homes, cottages, and resorts compose the majority of the development. DNR owned concrete public water accesses are located along the northwest and southeast shorelines of the lake. A DNR owned earthen public water access is located along the north shoreline. The shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and rubble. Stands of hardstem bulrush, common cattail, and wild rice are scattered along the entire shoreline of the lake; however, the largest stands are along areas that haven't been highly developed and are located on the east, west and south shorelines. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush, cattail, and wild rice provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. To maintain the excellent angling that this lake has to offer, it is imperative to preserve the quality of the aquatic habitat. A reduced daily limit of 5 crappie was instituted in 2025. The goal of this regulation is to maintain or improve the size structure of the Black Crappie population. A special spring boat electrofishing survey was conducted in 2025 to analyze the Black Crappie population and establish baseline demographics. Catch data indicate that Black Crappies are moderately abundant. The 2021-year class is strong and should provide consistently good Black Crappie angling for several years. Crappie recruitment is inconsistent, which can result in varying levels of abundance and changes in size structure over time. Fish sampled ranged in size from 8.6 to 14.4 inches in length, with an average length of 10.8 inches. Eighty-seven percent of the crappies were…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, June 2, 2025.

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