Dinner

Dinner Lake (DOW # 03-0044-00) is located fifteen miles northwest of Park Raids, in northeastern Becker County. Dinner Lake has a surface area of 59 acres and a maximum depth of 32 feet. There is a state-owned public access on the south shore of the lake off Dinner Lake Loop. Dinner Lake provides fishing opportunities for Northern Pike, panfish, and Largemouth Bass. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical and chemical characteristics. Dinner Lake is in Lake Class 28. Lake Class 28 lakes generally are characterized as small lakes, with hard water, good water clarity, and a regular shaped shoreline. Other Lake Class 28 lakes in the Park Rapids management area include: Big Bass, Blueberry, Deep, Emma, Gilmore, Indian, Loon, Nagel, Shipman and Williams. Anglers can expect to find an abundant Northern Pike population dominated by small, "hammer handle" pike in the 18-to-22-inch size range, however a few larger fish have been sampled with fish measuring up to 36.7 inches. Dinner Lake supports a healthy panfish population and can provide good fishing for Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, and Black Crappie. Bluegills were sampled in moderate numbers with sampled fish averaging 6.1 inches and fish up to 9.2 inches sampled. Black Crappie were also sampled in moderate numbers with sampled fish averaging 9.8 inches and fish up to 12.8 inches sampled. Largemouth Bass are present but found in lower numbers compared to other area lakes. Yellow Perch were sampled in low numbers compared to past surveys. Yellow Perch are generally small, and not a preferred size for angling. Walleyes are present in Dinner Lake, but in very low numbers. Currently no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Dinner Lake. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boats before leaving the access.

Dinner Lake is located fifteen miles northwest of Park Raids in northeastern Becker County. Dinner Lake has a surface area of 57 acres and a maximum depth of 32 feet. There is a township-owned public access on the south shore of the lake. Dinner Lake provides angling opportunities for Northern Pike, panfish, and Largemouth Bass. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical and chemical characteristics. Dinner Lake is in lake class 28. Class 28 lakes are characterized as small lakes, with hard water, good water clarity, and a regular shaped shoreline. Anglers can expect to find an abundant Northern Pike population dominated by small, "hammer handle" pike in the 18 to 22 inch size range. The Northern Pike population in Dinner has been very high since the 2003 survey. Earlier surveys sampled pike in moderate numbers with a slightly larger average size. The number of larger Northern Pike (> 28.0 inches) sampled has been very low for all surveys on Dinner Lake. Dinner Lake supports a healthy panfish population and can provide good fishing for Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, and Black Crappie. Present and past surveys have shown a moderate Bluegill population with decent numbers of Bluegill in the 6-8 inch size range. Black Crappie were sampled in low numbers in 2015. Black Crappie abundance has fluctuated from low to moderate numbers in past surveys. Largemouth Bass are present, but found in lower numbers compared to other area lakes. Yellow Perch were sampled in very low numbers compared to past surveys. Yellow Perch are generally small, and not an acceptable size for angling. Walleye are present in Dinner Lake, but in very low numbers. Currently no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Dinner Lake. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boats before leaving the access.

Dinner Lake is located fifteen miles northwest of Park Rapids in northeastern Becker County. Dinner Lake has a surface area of 57 acres and a maximum depth of 32 feet. There is a township-owned public access on the south shore of the lake. Dinner Lake provides angling opportunities for northern pike and panfish.The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical and chemical characteristics. Dinner Lake is in class 28. Other area lakes in this same classification include: Big Bass, Emma, Gilmore, Indian, Nagel, Newman, Thomas, and Williams.Northern pike were sampled in high numbers in 2003 with the gillnet catch rate of 14.3 pike/net the highest for all surveys going back to 1961. Small northern pike dominated the sample as average size was only 19.7 inches and 1.7 pounds. The number of larger pike (> 28.0 inches) was low when compared to other area lakes. Past surveys have shown northern pike numbers at moderate levels with a larger average size. Dinner Lake supports a good panfish population and provides fishing for bluegill, pumpkinseed, and black crappie. Bluegill were sampled in moderate numbers, within the range "typical" for this lake class. The average size of bluegill was less than 6.0 inches, however, enough larger fish are present that you can sort through the small ones and still get enough "eaters". Moderate numbers of black crappies were sampled, "typical" for lakes in this class. Anglers can expect to find black crappie in the 9 to 10 inch range. Yellow perch were sampled in high numbers but are generally not an acceptable size for angling. Other species sampled included high numbers of black bullhead, and moderate numbers of rock bass, white sucker, and brown bullhead.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Black Crappie, Walleye, Rock Bass, Northern Pike, and Bluegill in Dinner. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Dinner. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Dinner has a maximum depth of 32 feet and a mean depth of 17 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Dinner is from 2025.

No invasive species are on record for Dinner in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.