Henry Thoreau once said: “A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature.” Fortunately, there are 1,048 lakes in Otter Tail County. We have more lakes than any other single county in the entire United States! One of the benefits of staying at East Silent Resort is the many area lakes. Guests can drive just a few short miles to take advantage of excellent fishing and recreational opportunities on Big McDonald Lake, one of the premiere area lakes.

Big McDonald Lake located in north-central Otter Tail County approximately nine miles west of Perham, MN. Big McDonald Lake is over 1,000 acres in size, spring fed and has a water clarity of up to 25 feet – among the cleanest in Minnesota. Big McDonald Lake is connected to Schwartz Lake during high water years. The maximum depth of Big McDonald Lake is 46 feet; however, 39 % of the lake is less than 15 feet in depth.

Your family will also get chance to see many emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush, cattail. Wild rice provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat. There are varieties of fish types in the Big McDonald Lake, including: Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Rock Bass, Walleye, Perch, etc. for your family fishing trip! Big McDonald Lake can be ecologically classified as a bass-panfish-walleye type of lake and this is reflected in the assemblage of the fish community.

Don’t worry even if your family members are beginner fishermen, anglers can maintain the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. The lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future.