Bassett Slough Fishing in Big Stone County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Bassett Slough falls in Big Stone County, part of Minnesota. The surface lies 1,076 feet up. With some 68 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The bank runs about 1.4 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Ortonville sits 7.8 miles from here and is the nearest stop. The big place round here is Fargo, 103 miles distant. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Bassett Slough

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Survey and observation records for Big Stone County include common carp, yellow perch, walleye, black bullhead and orangespotted sunfish. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Bassett Slough gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 72°F and January reads 10°F. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Ice-out usually falls in early April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up near early April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. The season on Bassett Slough rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Lysing Lake sits 0.5 miles off and takes the overflow. Signs at Bassett Slough carry more weight than any list.