Blackstone Lake, Minnesota: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Blackstone Lake is a Lake County water, Minnesota side. Everything around it is rolling bush. At some 508 acres it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. You are looking at roughly 12 miles of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. On our Lake County list it sits near the top for size. Ely lies 41 miles from the water. For a city, Thunder Bay is 88 miles off. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Blackstone Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Survey and observation records for Lake County include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Read Blackstone Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 4°F in January up to 64°F in July. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. The season between ice runs from about late April to mid November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. The season on Blackstone Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Bell Lake, 1.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Rules at Blackstone Lake are worth checking on the day.