The shore fishing field guide Bass fishing. From the bank.
Bankside Angler

Public shore fishing spots in Crow Wing County, Minnesota

DNR records list 13 public shore fishing spots in Crow Wing County: 9 fishing piers and 4 shore or bank fishing sites. Check current access before visiting.

Source: Minnesota DNR public fishing sites, retrieved 2026-09-09

SpotWaterMaintained byGetting there
Mississippi River - Ft. Ripley Shore Fishing Site Water: River or reservoir Maintained by: DNR Division of Parks and Trails Getting there: Ft. Ripley Landing, N of Ft. Ripley, take Hwy. 371 N 1 mi., then W on access rd.
Mississippi River - Green's Point Shore Fishing Site Water: River or reservoir Maintained by: DNR Division of Parks and Trails Getting there: From Brainerd, 4 mi N on Hwy 25, then 3 mi E on Executive Acres Rd at end of Rd.
Pine River Shore Fishing Site Water: River or reservoir Maintained by: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Getting there: In Cross Lake, US Army Corps of Engineers Coulter Recreation Area, on Hwy. 3, just below the dam.
Boom Lake Fishing Pier Water: Boom Maintained by: City of Brainerd Getting there: In Brainerd, in Kiwanis Park, at the E end of the College Drive Bridge.
Whipple Fishing Pier Water: Middle Whipple Maintained by: City of Baxter Getting there: In Baxter, from Hwy 210 & 371, go W 2.5 mi on Hwy 210, then N 1.5 mi on Memorywood Drive, then W 0.5 mi on Clearwater Rd. Park in water access parking lot.
Milford Lake, Milford Mine Memorial Park Fishing Pier Water: Milford Maintained by: Crow Wing County Getting there: No directions published
Milford Lake, Milford Mine Memorial Park Fishing Platform Water: Milford Maintained by: Crow Wing County Getting there: No directions published
Little Emily Lake Fishing Pier Water: Papoose Maintained by: Crow Wing County Getting there: 21517 Papoose Rd, Emily, MN 56447
Pennington Mine Pit Lake Shore Fishing Site Water: Pennington Mine Maintained by: DNR Division of Parks and Trails, Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area Getting there: In Ironton, 0.5 mi N of Hwy 210 on Co Rd 30, then 0.5 mi W. In Cayuna Country State Recreation Area. Park in public water access lot.
Rice Lake Reservoir Fishing Pier Water: Rice Maintained by: City of Brainerd Getting there: In Brainerd's Lum Park, on the city's NE end, off Hwy 210, pier near the S tip of the lake.
Ruth Lake Fishing Pier Water: Ruth Maintained by: City of Emily Getting there: In Emily, 0.5 mi E of Hwy 6 on Mill Road. Park in water access lot.
Serpent Fishing Pier Water: Serpent Maintained by: City of Crosby Getting there: In Crosby, 3 blocks E of Hwy 210, on N shore of the lake's W end.
South Long Lake Fishing Pier Water: South Long Maintained by: Crow Wing County Getting there: 8 mi S of Brainerd on Hwy 25. S shore of lake.

What to bring

Every spot above is bank fishing, which is what this site is about. The Shore Setup Selector asks four questions about the water in front of you and returns one rig, and the one setup to start with covers what to buy first. If the spot is a pier over deeper water, when to add a bullet weight is the one to read before you go.

Before you drive

DNR lists these public fishing sites; the managing organization is shown in each row. A map pin identifies a recorded site, not a guarantee of current access or a report that bass are there. Check with the manager before traveling.

A spot marked "Not recorded as accessible" has a false ADA-accessibility flag in DNR's data. A spot with no note has an unspecified flag; that does not tell us whether anyone assessed accessibility. Confirm current facilities with the manager.

Lake and access data on this page comes from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Public Fishing Sites in Minnesota. MN DNR contributed the data and does not endorse this site. We publish it under DNR's general data licence, which requires this credit and forbids reselling the data, so there is no download here. Check the DNR record before you drive: access, fees, and regulations change, and DNR's copy is the current one.