Panfish · sunfish family
Rock bass
Ambloplites rupestris
- Size
- A large one is about 10 in and 1 lb
- Eats
- Insects, snails, crayfish and small fish
- Found in
- Rocky reefs and weedy, soft-bottomed lakes of central and northern Minnesota
- Water quality
- One of the DNR's intolerant species, among the first to disappear from degraded lakes
- Minnesota record
- 2 lb 4 oz, 13½ in — Mille Lacs Lake, Mille Lacs County, 2024
Where rock bass have been recorded
697 of the 1,788 Minnesota lakes on this site with fish records list rock bass, across 40 counties. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.
Recorded here Other lakes with fish records
How we know
- 697lakes where a DNR fisheries survey caught them
A lake can appear in more than one line. A lake that isn’t listed may still have them: records exist only where someone caught, netted or stocked them.
Inland lakes on this list run from 7 to 128,184 acres (median 437) and from 5 to 500 ft deep (median 45 ft).
How many turn up in DNR surveys
Minnesota DNR lake surveys use standard gear: gill nets set offshore for 24 hours (the main gear for walleye, northern pike, yellow perch, cisco, whitefish and trout), trap nets set near shore (the main gear for bluegill, crappie and bullheads), and on some lakes electrofishing, most often for bass. The DNR reports each gear separately, as fish per net set. These rates come from the newest standard survey of each lake on this site, 1959–2025 — a measure of how many fish a lake holds, not how many an angler will catch.
- Found in
- 587 of 1604 lakes surveyed this way
- Typical rate
- 0.75 per trap net where found
- Highest
- 18 per trap net
- Method
- fish per trap net set
“Typical” is the median across the lakes where the survey caught at least one. Each gear catches different fish, so the rates are not added together. In gill nets it turned up in 523 lakes at a typical 1.1 per gill net set. A single survey is a snapshot of one season.
Highest survey rates on this site
- Eagle Lake, Otter Tail 2014 18
- Pequaywan Lake, St. Louis 1991 14
- Tenmile Lake, Otter Tail 2024 10
- Deer Lake, Itasca 2023 10
- Lake Moses, Douglas 2022 9.4
- Loon Lake, Cook 2024 8.6
- Bear Island Lake, St. Louis 2023 7.4
- Kabekona Lake, Hubbard 2023 6.8
- Benedict Lake, Hubbard 2021 6.8
- Little Pine Lake, Otter Tail 2017 6.7
Fish per trap net set, with survey year. Survey effort and season differ between lakes.
Often found with
Share of these lakes that also list each fish.
How to recognize it
Stout and heavier than other sunfish and crappie, with red eyes and brassy sides with distinct black spots, one on each scale. The mouth is large, reaching past the middle of the eye. It can change its colors to match its surroundings.
Don’t confuse it with
Life in a Minnesota lake
Rock bass travel in schools and feed mainly by day near structure. In the DNR's fish-based index of lake health they count among the top carnivores, fish that feed mainly on other fish.
They also count as an intolerant species, meaning they react early to declining water quality or habitat loss and tend to vanish first from degraded lakes. In some lake types, more intolerant species in greater numbers signals better habitat.
Source: the sources below.
Rules and eating
Check the rules before you keep fish. Each lake page shows the regulations that apply there, and the Minnesota DNR fishing regulations page is the official source. Before eating fish from a particular lake, check the Minnesota Department of Health’s fish consumption guidance.
All 697 lakes with rock bass
Show every lake, by county
Aitkin County 25
Ball Bluff Lake, Big Pine Lake, Big Sandy Lake, Cedar Lake (Main Basin), Cedar Lake (N.E. Arm), Cedar Lake (West Bay), Cutaway Lake, Dam Lake, Elm Island Lake, Esquagamah Lake, Farm Island Lake, Gun Lake, Hill Lake (North Basin), Hill Lake (South Basin), Little Ball Bluff Lake, Lone Lake, Long Lake, Ripple Lake, Round Lake, Round Lake, Sissabagamah Lake, Spirit Lake, Sugar Lake, Vanduse Lake, Waukenabo Lake
Becker County 34
Bad Medicine Lake, Big Cormorant Lake, Boot Lake, Buffalo Lake, Cotton Lake, Detroit Lake, Dinner Lake, Elbow Lake, Floyd Lake, Fox Lake, Ice Cracking Lake, Island Lake, Juggler Lake, Lake Eunice, Lake Maud, Lake Melissa, Lake Sallie, Leif Lake, Little Bemidji Lake, Little Cormorant Lake, Little Toad Lake, Long Lake, Many Point Lake, Middle Cormorant Lake, Muskrat Lake, Perch Lake, Pickerel Lake, Round Lake, Straight Lake, Strawberry Lake, Toad Lake, Turtle Lake, Two Inlets Lake, White Earth Lake
Beltrami County 30
Andrusia Lake, Beltrami Lake, Big Lake, Blackduck Lake, Buzzle Lake, Cass Lake, Clearwater Lake, Dellwater Lake, Gilstad Lake, Grant Lake, Gull Lake, Kitchi Lake, Lake Bemidji (main lake), Lake Campbell, Lake Irving, Lake Julia, Lake Marquette, Lake Windigo, Little Turtle Lake, Long Lake, Moose Lake, Movil Lake, North Twin Lake, Pimushe Lake, South Twin Lake, Stump Lake, Three Island Lake, Turtle Lake, Turtle River Lake, Wolf Lake
Carlton County 16
Chub Lake, Coffee Lake, Eagle Lake, Echo Lake, Eddy Lake, Fond du Lac Reservoir, Hanging Horn Lake, Knife Falls Reservoir, Little Hanging Horn Lake, Lower (South) Island Lake, Moose Lake, Park Lake, Scanlon Reservoir, Tamarack Lake, Thomson Reservoir, Upper (North) Island Lake
Cass County 90
Agate Lake, Baby Lake, Barnum Lake, Bass Lake, Big Deep Lake, Big Portage Lake (East Bay), Big Portage Lake (West Bay), Birch Lake, Black Water Lake, Bowen Lake, Boy Lake, Broadwater Bay, Child Lake, Cooper Lake, Crooked Lake, Deep Portage Lake, Five Point Lake, Girl Lake, Grave Lake, Gull Lake, Hand Lake, Hay Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Howard Lake, Hunter Lake, Inguadona Lake (N. Bay), Inguadona Lake (S. Bay), Island Lake, Island Lake, Jack Lake, Kid Lake, Knight Lake, Lake Ada, Lake Hattie, Lake May, Lake Winnibigoshish, Lawrence Lake, Leavitt Lake, Leech Lake (Kabekona Bay), Leech Lake (Main Basin), Lind Lake, Little Bass Lake, Little Boy Lake, Little Webb Lake, Little Wolf Lake, Little Woman Lake, Long Lake, Long Lake, Long Lake, Long Lake, Loon Lake, Lower Trelipe Lake, Mabel Lake, Man Lake, McKeown Lake, Moccasin Lake, Mule Lake, Norway Lake, Ox Yoke Lake, Paquet Lake, Pike Bay, Pillager Lake, Pine Lake, Pine Mountain Lake, Pleasant Lake, Ponto Lake, Portage Lake, Portage Lake, Ray Lake, Rice Lake, Roosevelt Lake, Sanborn Lake, Sand Lake, Sixmile Lake, Steamboat Lake, Stony Lake, Sugar Lake, Swift Lake, Sylvan Lake, Tenmile Lake, Thunder Lake, Upper Gull Lake, Upper Trelipe Lake, Wabedo Lake (North East Bay), Wabedo Lake (South West Bay), Washburn Lake, Webb Lake, Welch Lake, Widow Lake, Woman Lake (main lake)
Clay County 1
Clearwater County 4
Cook County 5
Alton Lake, Iron Lake, Little Iron Lake, Loon Lake, Magnetic Lake
Crow Wing County 78
Adney Lake, Arrowhead Lake, Bass Lake, Bay Lake, Bertha Lake, Big Trout Lake, Blue Lake, Borden Lake, Butterfield Lake, Camp Lake, Clamshell Lake, Clear Lake, Clearwater Lake, Crooked Lake (Main Bay), Crooked Lake (Sugar Bay), Cross Lake Reservoir, Daggett Lake, Eagle Lake, East Fox Lake, Fawn Lake, Gladstone Lake, Goodrich Lake, Greer Lake, Hanks Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Island Lake, Kimball Lake, Lake Edna, Lake Edward, Lake Hubert, Little Ox Lake, Little Pelican Lake, Little Pine Lake, Lougee Lake, Love Lake, Lower Cullen Lake, Lower Hay Lake, Lower Mission Lake, Lower Whitefish Lake, Mahnomen, Alstead & Arco Lake, Middle Cullen Lake, Mitchell Lake, Nisswa Lake, Nokay Lake, North Long Lake, O'Brien Lake (Northeast Bay), O'Brien Lake (Southwest Bay), Ossawinnamakee Lake, Ox Lake, Pelican Lake, Pennington Mine, Perch Lake, Pickerel Lake, Pig Lake, Portage Lake, Portsmouth Mine, Rabbit Lake (East Portion), Rabbit Lake (West Portion), Rice Lake, Rogers Lake, Ross Lake, Round Lake, Roy Lake, Rush Lake, Ruth Lake, Serpent Lake, Smith Lake, South Long Lake, Star Lake, Trout Lake, Upper Cullen Lake, Upper Hay Lake, Upper Mission Lake, Upper South Long Lake, Velvet Lake, West Fox Lake, White Sand Lake, Whitefish Lake
Douglas County 25
Burgen Lake, Chippewa Lake, Lake Aaron, Lake Andrew, Lake Brophy, Lake Carlos, Lake Cowdrey, Lake Darling, Lake Geneva, Lake Ida, Lake Ina, Lake Jessie, Lake Latoka, Lake Le Homme Dieu, Lake Louise, Lake Mary, Lake Miltona, Lake Mina, Lake Moses, Lake Victoria, Lobster Lake (East Bay), Lobster Lake (West Bay), Lottie Lake, Maple Lake, North Union Lake
Goodhue County 1
Grant County 1
Hennepin County 1
Hubbard County 71
Benedict Lake, Big Bass Lake, Big Sand Lake, Big Stony Lake, Blue Lake, Boulder Lake, Coon Lake, Deer Lake, Duck Lake, Eagle Lake, East Crooked Lake, Eighth Crow Wing Lake, Eleventh Crow Wing Lake (East), Eleventh Crow Wing Lake (Main), Emma Lake, Evergreen Lake, Fifth Crow Wing Lake, First Crow Wing Lake, Fishhook Lake, Fourth Crow Wing Lake, Garfield Lake, Gilmore Lake, Grace Lake, Ham Lake, Hinds Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Ida Lake, Island Lake, Island Lake, Kabekona Lake, LaSalle Lake, Lake Belle Taine, Lake George, Lake Hattie, Lake Minnie, Lake Plantagenet, Lake Twentyone, Little Mantrap Lake, Little Sand Lake, Long Lake, Lower Bottle Lake, Mantrap Lake (East Basin), Mantrap Lake (Home Bay), Mantrap Lake (Middle Basin), Mantrap Lake (Mirror Bay), Mantrap Lake (West Arm), Mary Lake, Midge Lake, Mow Lake, Nagel Lake, Ninth Crow Wing Lake, Palmer Lake, Pickerel Lake, Portage Lake, Potato Lake, Round Lake, Schoolcraft Lake, Second Crow Wing Lake, Seventh Crow Wing Lake, Shallow Lake, Shingobee Lake, Sixth Crow Wing Lake, Spearhead Lake, Spider Lake (East Bay), Spider Lake (NE/SW Bay), Stocking Lake, Sweitzer Lake, Tenth Crow Wing Lake, Third Crow Wing Lake, Upper Bottle Lake, Upper Twin Lake
Itasca County 105
Alice Lake, Anderson Lake, Antler Lake, Ball Club Lake, Balsam Lake, Bass Lake, Bass Lake, Bear Lake, Bello Lake, Big Dick Lake, Big Too Much Lake, Birds Eye Lake, Blandin Lake, Bluewater Lake, Bowstring Lake, Cameron Lake, Caribou Lake, Cedar Lake, Clearwater Lake, Clubhouse Lake, Crooked Lake, Cut Foot Sioux Lake (East Bay), Cut Foot Sioux Lake (Main Bay), Dead Horse Lake, Deer Lake, Deer Lake, Dinner Pail Lake, Dixon Lake, Dora Lake, Dunbar Lake, Eagle Lake, East Lake, Five Island Lake, Forest Lake, Fox Lake, Grave Lake, Gunn Lake, Hale Lake, Hatch Lake, Helen Lake, Highland Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Island Lake, Jack the Horse Lake (North), Jack the Horse Lake (South), Jay Gould Lake, Jessie Lake, Johnson Lake, Johnson Lake, LaCroix Lake, Lawrence Lake, Little Bass Lake, Little Bowstring Lake, Little Jay Gould Lake, Little Jessie Lake, Little North Star Lake, Little Sand Lake, Little Too Much Lake, Little Turtle Lake, Little Wabana Lake, Little Winnibigoshish Lake, Long Lake, Long Lake, Lost Lake, Lower Prairie Lake, Maple Lake, Mirror Lake, Moose Lake, Moose Lake, No-ta-she-bun Lake, North Star Lake, North Twin Lake, Pickerel Lake, Pokegama Lake (Main Bay), Pokegama Lake (Wendigo), Poplar Lake, Portage Lake, Prairie Lake, Rice Lake, Round Lake, Round Lake, Ruby Lake, Sand Lake, Shallow Lake, Siseebakwet Lake, Slauson Lake, Snaptail Lake, South Sturgeon Lake, South Sugar Lake, South Twin Lake, Spider Lake, Spring Lake, Stingy Lake, Swan Lake (Main Basin), Swan Lake (West Bay), Thistledew Lake, Trout Lake, Trout Lake, Turtle Lake, Wabana Lake, Wasson Lake, White Swan Lake, Whitefish Lake, Wilson Lake
Kanabec County 2
Kandiyohi County 2
Kittson County 1
Koochiching County 1
Lac qui Parle County 2
Lake County 21
Alice Lake, Amber Lake, August Lake, Dumbbell Lake, Dunnigan Lake, Fall Lake, Farm Lake, Garden Lake, Isabella Lake, Newton Lake, North McDougal Lake, Ottertrack Lake, Perent Lake, Sand Lake, Silver Island Lake, Snowbank Lake, South Farm Lake, Thomas Lake, Thomas Lake, Wind Lake, Windy Lake
Mahnomen County 6
Island Lake, McCraney Lake, North Twin Lake, Snider Lake, South Twin Lake, Tulaby Lake
Marshall County 1
Mille Lacs County 2
Morrison County 10
Cedar Lake, Crookneck Lake, Fish Trap Lake, Lake Alexander, Lake Placid, Pierz Lake, Round Lake, Shamineau Lake, Sullivan Lake, Sylvan Lake
Mower County 1
Otter Tail County 41
Annie Battle Lake, Big McDonald #2 Lake, Big McDonald Lake, Big Pine Lake, Clitherall Lake, Crystal Lake, Dead Lake, Eagle Lake, East Battle Lake, East Leaf Lake, East Lost Lake, First Silver Lake, Lake Blanche, Lake Franklin, Lake Lizzie (north portion), Little McDonald Lake, Little Pine Lake, Long Lake, Long Lake, Marion Lake, Middle Leaf Lake, North Lida Lake, Otter Tail Lake, Pelican Lake, Pickerel Lake, Prairie Lake, Rose Lake, Rush Lake, Scalp Lake, Six Lake, South Lida Lake, Stalker Lake, Star Lake, Swan Lake, Sybil Lake, Tenmile Lake, Walker Lake, West Battle Lake, West Leaf Lake, West McDonald Lake, Wright Lake
Pennington County 1
Pine County 4
Polk County 1
Pope County 2
Ramsey County 2
Sherburne County 1
St. Louis County 74
Armstrong Lake, Bass Lake, Bassett Lake, Bear Island Lake, Big Lake, Big Lake, Birch Lake, Boulder Lake Reservoir, Burntside Lake, Cameron Lake, Caribou Lake, Colby Lake, Crane Lake, Dark Lake, Dewey Lake, Eagles Nest #1 Lake, Eagles Nest #3 Lake, Eagles Nest Lake Number 2, East Vermilion Lake, Echo Lake, Elbow Lake, Ely Lake, Embarrass Lake, Esquagama Lake, Fish Lake Flowage (East Bay), Fish Lake Flowage (Main Basin), Fredenberg Lake, Grand Lake, Island Lake Reservoir (E.Basin), Island Lake Reservoir (W.Basin), Johnson Lake, Johnson Lake, Kabetogama Lake, Kjostad Lake, Little Grand Lake, Little Johnson Lake, Little Trout Lake, Little Vermilion Lake, Loiten Lake, Long Lake, Loon Lake, Loon Lake, McQuade Lake, Mukooda Lake, Myrtle Lake, Namakan Lake, Oriniack Lake, Pelican Lake, Pequaywan Lake, Pike Lake, Pine Lake, Pleasant Lake, Prairie Lake, Rainy Lake, Sabin Lake, Sand Point Lake, Schubert Lake, Shagawa Lake, Shannon Lake, Silver Lake, Spring Lake, St. Mary's Lake, Strand Lake, Sturgeon Lake, Trout Lake, Virginia Lake, West Sturgeon Lake, West Vermilion Lake, White Iron Lake, White Lake, Whiteface Reservoir, Whitewater Lake, Wild Rice Lake Reservoir, Wynne Lake
Stearns County 7
Beaver Lake, Big Spunk Lake, Big Watab Lake, Lake Koronis (main lake), Otter Lake, Sylvia Lake, Watab Lake
Todd County 13
Big Birch Lake, Big Swan Lake, Charlotte Lake, Fawn Lake, Lady Lake, Lake Osakis, Little Birch Lake, Little Swan Lake, Long Lake, Mound Lake, Sauk Lake (North Bay), Sauk Lake (Southwest Bay), Turtle Lake
Traverse County 1
Wadena County 2
Washington County 2
Sources
- Minnesota DNR: Rock bass
- Minnesota DNR MinnAqua: Minnesota Fish Watch (PDF)
- Minnesota DNR: Fish species classification for the lake index of biological integrity (native and non-native species)
- Minnesota DNR lake surveys (LakeFinder) — lake records, stocking and survey catch rates. Minnesota DNR contributed to this work.
- Minnesota DNR state record fish (certified and non-certified weight lists; angler names are not reproduced here)