Sarah Lake, Minnesota: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Sarah Lake is a Lake County water, in Minnesota. Country round the bank runs to rolling bush. Around 4.1 sq miles of open water: conditions change from one end to the other. At about 30 miles of edge, most people fish a single area and learn it well. It is among the larger waters listed here for Lake County. Ely lies 25 miles from the water. Atikokan is 38 miles and Babbitt 38 miles. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Sarah Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Across Lake County, recorded fish include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Sarah Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 3°F in January up to 65°F in July. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about mid November in an average year. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Sarah Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A phone call first saves an afternoon. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Failing this one, try Cecil Lake, 1.6 miles away. Rules at Sarah Lake are worth checking on the day.