Bass Lake Fishing, S of Coleraine, Minnesota

• Overview

  Bass Lake is set in Itasca County, Minnesota. It sits at 1,306 feet above sea level. At about 127 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. About 1.6 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Coleraine sits 12 miles from here and is the nearest stop. The nearest city of size is Fargo, 167 miles away. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Bass Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Itasca County list yellow perch, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill and black crappie. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Treat Bass Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 5°F to 66°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Bass Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Should this one be busy, Crooked Lake is 0.7 miles off. The position on Bass Lake is worth confirming on the day.