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

• Overview

  Look for Balsam Lake in the Lake County part of Minnesota. The bank is 1,719 feet above sea level. It runs to roughly 219 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Bank access stretches around 2.5 miles in total. Size puts it in the front rank of our Lake County list. For a base, Silver Bay sits 17 miles out. Beyond it, Babbitt at 37 miles and Ely at 40 miles. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Balsam Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Across Lake County, recorded fish include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. On Balsam Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 64°F at the top of summer and 6°F at the bottom of winter. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. That shapes the year on Balsam Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Art Lake sits 2.1 miles off and takes the overflow. Where Balsam Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.