Mille Lacs Lake

Mille Lacs Lake (also called Lake Mille Lacs or Mille Lacs) is a large but shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly 75 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Mille Lacs means "thousand lakes" in French. In the Ojibwe language of the people who historically occupied this area, the lake is called Misi-zaaga'igan ("grand lake"). Mille Lacs is Minnesota's second-largest inland lake at , after Red Lake. The maximum depth is . Much of the main lake has depths ranging from 20- to 38-feet. Gravel and rock bars are common in the southern half of the lake. Mille Lacs Lake hosts numerous islands, many of which are an acre or smaller and are in private ownership. The following list is in order from largest to smallest. Malone Island (35 acres) Mulybys Island (5.35 acres) Upper Twin Island (3.75 acres) Rainbow Island (3.25 acres) West Lower Twin Island (2.56 acres) Half Moon Island (1.37 acres) Pete Island (0.6 acres) Doe Island (0.55 acres) Spider Island (0.5 acres) East Lower Twin Island (0.4 acres) Spirit Island (0.31 acres) Pine Island (0.23 acres) Hennepin Island (0.17 acres) Shallow reef-top fishing exists on all sides of the lake. Deep-water angling takes place on the southern deep gravel and rocks as well as on dozens of mud flats in the north half of the lake. Shoreline break fishing on varied bottom types occurs all around the lake. The weed line is at nine to twelve feet. There are many local fisherman's names for some features of the lake. Spirit Island, the small rock-made island in the south west region of the lake, consists of weathered and eroded pink and white granite boulders. Spirit Island is one of two Islands in Mille Lakes Lake designated as a National Wildlife Refuge. The lake has many species of fish including walleye, northern pike, muskie, jumbo perch, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black crappie, burbot, and tullibee. It is one of Minnesota's most popular fishing lakes.