Portage

Portage Lake is located three miles northwest of Park Rapids in west-central Hubbard County. Portage has a surface area of 429 acres and a maximum depth of 17 feet. A county owned public access is located on the south shore of the lake. Portage is a very popular lake for ice fishing, as it is one of the first lakes to freeze in the area. Due to the shallow depth and heavy aquatic vegetation growth, Portage Lake is subject to periodic winterkills. Portage provides angling opportunities for Northern Pike, Panfish, Largemouth Bass and Walleye. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Portage is in lake class 39, one of fifteen class 39 lakes in the Park Rapids management area. Class 39 lakes are generally shallow, with high littoral area and are regularly shaped. Other class 39 lakes in the work area include: First Crow Wing, Fourth Crow Wing, Ham, Hennepin, Loon, Minnie, Paine, Peysenski, Rice, Shallow, Upper Twin, Wolf, and Hungryman. Northern Pike abundance was down from recent surveys but is still considered high. Anglers will find the Northern Pike population spread out with most from 13 to 27 inches in length. Northern Pike sampled had an average length of 18.8 inches and weighed 1.5 pounds. Portage supports a fast-growing Black Crappie population and angling for them is popular year-round. Anglers will find most Black Crappie in the 8.5 - 10.5 inch size range, with fish up to 12.3 inches. Portage also provides good fishing for Bluegill and Pumpkinseed; with some nicer fish up to 8.5 inches sampled. Walleye were sampled in low numbers, and below previous recent surveys. Walleye sampled had an average length of 15.9 inches with fish measuring up to 20.6 inches. Yellow Perch, an important forage species for Walleye were sampled in increasing numbers, but most were too small for anglers. Curly-leaf Pondweed is an aquatic invasive species (AIS) that has been identified in Portage. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.

Portage Lake is located three miles northwest of Park Rapids in west central Hubbard County. Portage Lake is a 429 acre lake with a maximum depth of 17 feet. A county-owned public access is located on the south shore of the lake off of 210th street. Due to the shallow depth and heavy aquatic vegetation growth, Portage Lake is subject to periodic "winterkill events". Portage Lake last experienced a partial winterkill during the winter of 2013-2014. Portage Lake provides angling opportunities for Northern Pike, panfish, Walleye and Largemouth Bass. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Portage is in lake class 39. Class 39 lakes are regularly shaped lakes that are made up of mostly shallow water. Other area lakes in this same classification include First and Fourth Crow Wing Lakes, Paine, and Peysenske. Anglers can expect to find an abundant population of Northern Pike in Portage, with most fish 16-24 inches and the largest 32 inches. Northern Pike were an average length of 20.5 inches and weight of 1.9 pounds. Portage has been a popular lake recently for ice fishing panfish. Angling opportunities for panfish include Black Crappie, Bluegill and Pumpkinseed. Since the partial winterkill in 2013-2014 the abundance increased, but the average size is still low. There are still some nice fish available with Black Crappies up to 12.5 inches, Bluegills up to 9 inches, while Pumpkinseeds were smaller, up to 7.5 inches. Walleye abundance was good and dominated by larger fish, 18 to 23 inches. The average size of 19.5 inches and 3 pounds was the highest seen in past samples. Largemouth Bass were hit pretty hard in the winterkill of 2013-2014, and limited adults survived. The 2014 sample had good numbers of bass, but with a very small average size of 7 inches. Catch rates increased in 2017, and the average size was 10.5 inches. Curly-leaf Pondweed is an aquatic invasive species (AIS) that has been identified in Portage 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 boat before leaving the access.

Portage Lake is located just north of Park Rapids in Hubbard County. Portage has a surface area of 412 acres and a maximum depth of 17 feet. There is a county owned access on the south shore of the lake. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Portage Lake is in lake class 39. Class 39 lakes are generally shallow with a very high proportion of littoral area (depths less than 15 feet), and a regularly shaped shoreline. Other class 39 lakes in the Park Rapids area include First Crow Wing, Fourth Crow Wing, Hennepin, Peysenski, Upper Twin, and Wolf. Portage Lake is part of a long term monitoring project, Sustaining Lakes In a Changing Environment (SLICE). The 2016 survey consisted of targeted sampling for certain fish species at certain times of the year. Northern Pike are abundant but the size structure consisted of smaller fish. This has been evident for the past several years. Largemouth Bass were sampled by spring electrofishing in moderate numbers. Bass had a poor average size of 7 inches and no fish over 14 inches were sampled. Bluegills were sampled in higher numbers than recent years, and above the third quartile when compared to similar lakes. Fish of all sizes were sampled from 3.15 to 8.5 inches, with a small average size of 4.3 inches. Portage Lake experienced a partial winterkill in 2013 that was evident by the smaller size distribution and over-abundance of Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, and Northern Pike. Curly-leaf Pondweed, an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS), has been identified in Portage 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 boat before leaving the access.

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

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

Portage has a maximum depth of 17 feet and a mean depth of 10 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Portage is from 2022.

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