Bay

Bay Lake is a popular 2,392 acre lake located five miles south of Deerwood in Crow Wing County. Development is heavy on its 24.3 miles of shoreline. Maximum depth is 74 feet, with 42% of the lake 15 feet deep or less. The lone public access located on the west shore of the northwest bay can get very crowded at times. Bay Lake has substantial recreational boating activity, especially on weekends and holidays. Three islands are present. Church Island is protected from future development through a conservation easement AMA (aquatic management area). Walleye are currently stocked annually as fry. A variety of Walleye stocking strategies have been tried in Bay Lake since 1967, including fry and various rates of walleye fingerlings. However, none of these have been successful in creating more than a low-level walleye population. The 2021 Walleye catch of 1.1/gill net remains below average for this type of lake but is typical of past catches on Bay Lake. The average size was quite nice at 21.1". Walleye numbers seem to be kept low by the high abundance of northern pike, and the low number of yellow perch. The Northern Pike catch, although down from 19.6/gill net in the previous survey, was still high at 9.9/gill net. Efforts by the lake association and local anglers to encourage harvest of more abundant smaller Northern Pike coupled with the North Central zone regulation should help reduce overall pike numbers while improving size structure. Average size in 2021 was small at 19.2 inches and only 17% were above the 22-26" protected slot. Largemouth Bass were sampled by night electrofishing at a rate of 64.1/hour, down from the 2014 rate of 100.3/hour. Average length was 12.7 inches, with 71% measuring 12 inches or larger. Black Crappie numbers were average, with 47% measuring 8" or larger. Bluegill numbers, although average as well, were the lowest to date at 9.5/trap net. Average length was 6.0" and 42% of the fish were 7" or larger. Bay Lake is designated as an infested water because of Eurasian watermilfoil and zebra mussels. Lake users are required to inspect and remove any aquatic plants and animals from their watercraft and trailers as well as remove the plug and drain all water from the watercraft, including bilges, livewells and baitwells.

A special IBI assessment was conducted on Bay Lake to sample the nearshore fish community. Backpack electrofishing gear along with seining equipment was used at 24 sites around the lake. The most common species captured was bluegill, followed closely by bluntnose minnows. Other species caught included pugnose shiner, logperch, mimic shiner, and 16 other species of fish.

Bay Lake is a popular 2,392 acre lake located five miles south of Deerwood in Crow Wing County. Development is heavy on its 24.3 miles of shoreline. Maximum depth is 74 feet, with 42% of the lake 15 feet deep or less. A public access is located on the west shore of the northwest bay. Bay Lake has substantial recreational boating activity, especially on weekends and holidays. Three islands are present. Church Island is protected from future development through a conservation easement AMA (aquatic management area). Walleye are currently stocked annually as fry. A variety of walleye stocking strategies have been tried in Bay Lake since 1967, including fry and various rates of walleye fingerlings. However, none of these have been successful in creating more than a low-level walleye population. The 2014 walleye catch of 1.6/ gillnet remains below average for the lake class, but is typical of past catches on Bay Lake. The average size was quite nice at 19.9 inches and 3 lbs. Walleye numbers seem to be kept low by the high abundance of northern pike, and the low number of yellow perch. The northern pike catch of 19.6/gillnet was extremely high, and the highest catch to date. Average size was small at 17.9 inches and 1.3 lbs. A few larger northern pike were present with 5% of the catch 24 inches or larger. On all lakes it is important to practice catch and release of these larger northern pike, as they help to control the population of smaller northern pike. This is especially true on Bay Lake. Two year classes (2011 and 2012) made up 82% of the total catch. Largemouth bass were sampled by a spring electrofishing survey. Largemouth were captured at a rate of 100.3/hr of run time. Average length was 12.0 inches, with 58% measuring 12 inches or larger. The black crappie gillnet catch of 1.2/net was above average. Average length was 9.7 inches. The trapnet black crappie catch of 1.6/net was average, with an average length of 9.0 inches. For both gears combined, 74% of black crappies measured at least 8 inches in length with fish up to 12.4 inches captured. The bluegill catch of 12.3/trapnet was the lowest catch to date. The average length was 6.9 inches, with 57% of the catch 7 inches or larger. Bay Lake is designated as an infested water because of Eurasian watermilfoil. Lake users are required to inspect and remove any aquatic plants and animals from their watercraft and trailers as well as remove the plug and drain all water from the watercraft, including bilges, livewells and baitwells.

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

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

Bay has a maximum depth of 74 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Bay is from 2021.

Yes — Bay has confirmed Eurasian watermilfoil and zebra mussel. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.