Fishing Anit Lake in Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  In Minnesota, Anit Lake belongs to Lake County. It stands 1,568 feet above sea level. At 12 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. On size it sits at the modest end of our Lake County list. For supplies, Ely is 37 miles out. Thunder Bay sits 89 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Anit Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Lake County, recorded fish include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Anit Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 4°F and July at about 64°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Anyone fishing Anit Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Overnight stays are possible about half a mile out, where camping is mapped. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Kivaniva Lake, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Anit Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.