When it comes to fishing, Kandiyohi County has just about it all. With more than 25 fishing lakes, ranging from secluded to well-settled to shallow, sprawling or compact, anglers have a bevy of choices for where to cast their lines.

Most of Kandiyohi County’s fishing lakes are located north of Highway 12, and are easily accessible to anglers of all ages — by boat, dock or shoreline.

Walleye and northern pike are abundant. Bass fishing also is a draw on many lakes. Pan fishing for crappies, bluegills and sunfish is enjoyed on most of the water bodies.

For specifics on local lakes, look to the bait and station stores scattered throughout the lakes area. County and private campgrounds, at the state park and all resorts, are also sources of information.

A pole, a bobber and a worm on a hook gets you started. At the right spot on a quiet lake, wading or dock fishing can bring the same big smiles as radar fishing for trophy fish in a high-tech bass boat.

Minnows, leeches and the always popular crawlers can be found at bait shops around the area. Please look for the list of bait shops in this publication.

Remember, fishing is one-part knowledge, two parts luck and 100% worthwhile.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

The information in the lake capsules that follows is provided by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division.

Maximum depth: 26 feet.

Acres: 814.

Fishing: Walleye, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, and largemouth bass. Walleye adult, fingerlings and yearlings are stocked every other year. Numbers and sizes of walleyes are good.

Water clarity: 7.83 feet.

Structure: Abundant emergent vegetation, including bulrush.

Accesses: one in Sibley State Park and one on the south shore.

Maximum depth: 31 feet.

Acres: 52.

Fishing: The primary gamefish species that anglers have sought include largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie and northern pike.

Water clarity: 3 feet.

Structure: Emergent vegetation (bulrush) is present along the northeast and southeast corners. Water quality and clarity are moderate, but algae blooms can occur during the late summer months. Submergent vegetation densities (pondweed species) have been historically variable in the lake.

Access: access is on the north side of lake, with parking and turnaround limited.

Maximum depth: 15 feet.

Acres: 2,692; length of shoreline: 10.4 miles.

Fishing: Walleye, northern pike and channel catfish. The lake is stocked with walleye fry.

Water clarity: 2.5 feet.

Structure: Little structure and few submerged beds of vegetation.

Access: northeast side and southwest side of the lake.

Maximum depth: 10 feet.

Acres: 618.

Fishing: Northern pike, bluegill and crappies. Walleye may be found due to a connection to Green Lake by the Middle Fork Crow River.

Water clarity: 6.3 feet.

Structure: Abundant submerged and emergent vegetation.

Access: southeast corner of the lake.

Maximum depth: 26 feet.

Acres: 81.

Fishing: Bluegill, crappie, yellow perch and northern pike.

Water clarity: 3.3 feet.

Structure: Submergent vegetation is limited to water depths less than two feet.

Access: west side of the lake.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Maximum depth: 14 feet.

Acres: 855.

Fishing: Northern pike, some crappies and walleye. Walleye are not stocked. Northern pike are abundant and of average size.

Water clarity: Moderately turbid.

Structure: Moderate structure with abundant submerged vegetation, especially in protected bays.

Accesses: In New London at State Highway 9 bridge and County Road 31 bridge and one-half mile north of New London.

Maximum depth: 27 feet.

Acres: 1,565.

Fishing: Walleye, northern pike, bluegills and crappies. Walleye fingerlings are stocked when natural reproduction is inadequate. Quality northerns are common.

Water clarity: 11 feet.

Structure: Moderate structure with some bulrush stands on the east shore and north point.

Accesses: southeast side and west side of the lake.

Maximum depth: 67 feet.

Acres: 824.

Fishing: Bluegill, sunfish and perch are abundant. Walleye and northern pike are present, but lower in number. The lake is stocked for walleye, and a northern pike spawning area is operated.

Water clarity: 8.5 feet

Structure: Moderate.

Access: south end of the lake.

Maximum depth: 14 feet.

Acres: 706.

Fishing: In recent years, anglers have reported good fishing success for walleye, northern pike and largemouth bass. Walleye fry or fingerlings are stocked into East Solomon every even year.

Water clarity: 12 feet.

Structure: Aquatic vegetation stands (hardstem bulrush, pondweeds, etc.) are common.

Access: northeast side of the lake off of County Road 5.

Maximum depth: 9 feet.

Acres: 1,054.

Fishing: Walleye, northern pike and crappies. The lake is stocked for walleye. Northern pike angling is good.

Water clarity: 3 feet.

Structure: Little structure with limited submerged vegetation.

Access: north side of the lake.

Maximum depth: 41 feet.

Acres: 87.

Fishing: Fishing pressure is relatively low in Elkhorn Lake. Anglers generally seek northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegill or black crappie.

Water clarity: 12.5 feet.

Structure: Submergent vegetation is moderately abundant within the shallow areas.

Access: east side of lake off of a residential gravel road that ties into County Road 8.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Maximum depth: 12 feet.

Acres: 136.

Fishing: The lake is managed for walleye as the primary species with crappies, yellow perch, northern pike, largemouth bass, and bluegill as secondary species.

Water clarity: 2.25 feet.

Structure: Submergent vegetation is rare and limited to water depths less than one foot.

Access: southeast side of the lake along County Road 86.

Maximum depth: 40 feet.

Acres: 674.

Fishing: Walleye, northern pike and bluegill. Florida is a good early-season walleye producer.

Water clarity: 10.5 feet.

Structure: Some structures on the northwest shore.

Access: north side of the lake.

Maximum depth: 24 feet.

Acres: 694.

Fishing: Walleye, black crappie and bluegill. The two basin lake has been stocked for walleye and channel catfish.

Water clarity: 3 feet

Structure: Limited structure with moderate submerged vegetation.

Accesses: south shore in the county fairgrounds for northwest basin, southeast shore in Robbins Island Regional Park for the southeast basin.

Maximum depth: 42 feet.

Acres: 515.

Fishing: Northern pike, bluegill and some crappie, walleye and largemouth bass.

Water clarity: 8.5 feet.

Structure: Emergent vegetation (bulrush) is moderate in Games Lake (northwest shore and bay areas, east shore areas). Submergent vegetation densities within the lake are moderately abundant within the littoral zone areas.

Access: southeast corner of the lake.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Maximum depth: 24 feet.

Acres: 224.

Fishing: Northern pike, bluegill and some crappie, walleye and largemouth bass.

Water clarity: 11 feet.

Structure: Limited structure with moderate submerged vegetation.

Access: northwest corner of the lake.

Maximum depth: 110 feet.

Acres: 5,406.

Fishing: Walleye, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, and smallmouth and largemouth bass. Walleye stocking has occurred every year with fry, fingerling, yearling and adult.

Water clarity: 8.6 feet.

Structure: Abundant structure and limited vegetation. Low densities of Eurasian water milfoil have been documented in Green Lake primarily near the Spicer public access, swimming beach, city dock, Indian Beach Lagoon, and several isolated areas since 2000.

Accesses: There are five public accesses around the lake.

Maximum depth: 57 feet.

Acres: 73.

Fishing: Local anglers have experienced good fishing success in recent years for a variety of species — including bluegill, northern pike, sunfish and yellow perch — in Henderson.

Water clarity: 13.67 feet.

Structure: Submergent vegetation stands (coontail, water moss, bushy pondweed, flatstem pondweed) are moderate in density.

Access: north side off of County Road 10.

Maximum depth: 7.8 feet.

Acres: 1,149.

Fishing: Lillian is managed for walleye as the primary species with northern pike, crappies and yellow perch as secondary species.

Water clarity: 6 feet.

Structure: Submergent vegetation was generally sparse throughout the lake.

Access: northeast side of the lake, ¼-mile west of County Road 4.

Maximum depth: 46 feet.

Acres: 286.

Fishing: Northern pike, bluegill, walleye and largemouth bass. There is a 12-inch maximum size limit on largemouth bass with one bass over 20 inches allowed

Water clarity: 10.5 feet.

Structure: Moderate structure with submerged and emergent vegetation.

Accesses: northwest end and northeast shore of the lake.

Maximum depth: 16 feet.

Acres: 1,575.

Fishing: Walleye. Northern pike and walleye are present in moderate numbers.

Water clarity: 10.58 feet.

Structure: Moderate structure with submerged and emergent vegetation.

Accesses: northeast side and south side of the lake.

Maximum depth: 40 feet.

Acres: 945.

Fishing: Walleye, northern pike, bluegill, crappie and smallmouth bass. Walleye fingerlings are stocked every other year.

Water clarity: 5.4 feet.

Structure: Some islands and structure, abundant submerged vegetation on the north and east shores.

Accesses: west and east sides of the lake.

Maximum depth: 33 feet.

Acres: 2,344.

Fishing: Walleye, northern pike, crappie, bluegill and largemouth bass. Walleye fingerlings are stocked when natural reproduction is inadequate, and a northern pike spawning area is operated. Good-size northern pike are available.

Water clarity: 3.5 feet.

Structure: Main lake has moderate structure and points and bays. The west basin has little structure. Eurasian water milfoil was found scattered throughout the West Norway basin in August of 2001 and in the Big Norway basin during 2005. Eurasian milfoil is present at low to moderate densities in the West Norway and Big Norway basins.

Accesses: south shore of the main lake and south shore of the west basin of the lake.

Maximum depth: 32 feet.

Acres: 164.

Fishing: Bluegill, northern pike, walleye and yellow perch.

Water clarity: 5.83 feet.

Structure: Submergent (muskgrass, filamentous algae, sago pondweed) and emergent vegetation (hardstem bulrush, reed canary grass) stands are abundant to common.

Access: east end of lake off of U.S. Highway 71.

Maximum depth: 10 feet.

Acres: 716.

Fishing: Walleye, northern pike and crappie. The lake is stocked for walleye. Ringo is a good early-season lake for one- to three-pound walleyes.

Water clarity: 1.17 feet.

Structure: Limited structure with abundant emergent vegetation, including bulrush.

Accesses: north side of the lake; shore fishing structures have been placed on the northeast shore of the lake off Highway 71.

Maximum depth: 14 feet.

Acres: 109.

Fishing: The DNR manages the lake for walleye, northern pike, black crappie, and bluegill.

Water clarity: 6 feet.

Structure: Aquatic vegetation (sago pondweed, coontail, hardstem bulrush) species and densities are limited within the lake.

Access: north shore one mile east of County Road 1.

Maximum depth: 15 feet.

Acres: 1,664.

Fishing: Walleye fry are generally stocked every other year or after years of poor fry survival.

Water clarity: 1 foot.

Structure: Submergent vegetation densities are variable in Wakanda. Sago pondweed is usually the most frequently occurring submergent species. Blue-green algae blooms are often intense and common during mid to late summer months.

Accesses: southeast side off of County Road 3 and north side two miles east of U.S. Highway 71 and 1.5 miles south of County Road 88.

Maximum depth: 14 feet.

Acres: 435.

Fishing: Walleye, channel catfish and some crappies. Walleye fry are stocked every other year. Good shore fishing. Walleye in the one- to three-pound range are abundant.

Water clarity: 2 feet.

Structure: Moderate structure with fair emergent vegetation.

Access: southwest shore on Robbins Island Regional Park.

Kandiyohi County Big Kandiyohi Lake West, 320-995-6599

Kandiyohi County Big Kandiyohi Lake East, 320-664-4707

Kandiyohi County Diamond Lake, 320-974-8520

Kandiyohi County Games Lake, 320-354-4453

Kandiyohi County Green Lake, 320-796-5564

Barney’s on Eagle Lake, Willmar, 320-231-9708

Down on the Korner, Granite Falls, 320-269-1245

Hilltop Stop, Paynesville, 320-243-3133

Mel’s Sports Shop, Spicer, 320-796-2421

Mitlyng’s Bait and Tackle, Watson, 320-269-5593

Pete’s Surplus, New London, 320-354-2626

Runnings, Willmar, 320-235-1325

Runnings Outdoors, Montevideo, 320-269-6025

Schmidty’s, Darwin, 320-693-0019

Skindelien’s Bait, New London, 320-354-2423

Sunrays Bait and Tackle, Willmar, 320-214-0499

Wakanda Bait, Svea, 320-995-6121

Zero Tolerance Firearms and Fishing, Kandiyohi, 320-235-4867