Alice Lake in Lake County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lake County, Minnesota, is where Alice Lake sits. What surrounds it is lake country bush. It measures some 2.4 sq miles, and wind has room to build across it. Size puts it in the front rank of our Lake County list. Ely at 30 miles is the nearest place to stop. Further out sit Babbitt (37 miles) and Grand Marais (43 miles). The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Alice Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Lake County records list white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike and rainbow trout among the fish reported. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Alice Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 64°F and January near 4°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late April. The lid tends to go about late April and return around late November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. It sets the rhythm of the year at Alice Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. You can camp half a mile off, which suits an early start. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Hum Lake, 1.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing here settles the position at Alice Lake for certain.