Fishing at Beauty Lake, Todd County, Minnesota

• Overview

  The Todd County end of Minnesota holds Beauty Lake. It sits in pine and birch. Roughly 225 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Some 3.5 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Size puts it in the front rank of our Todd County list. 8.4 miles away sits Long Prairie, the nearest town. Minneapolis is the closest city, 99 miles away. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Beauty Lake

  Sounding records show water to about 33 feet. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Todd County include largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie and northern pike. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Beauty Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 69°F and January reads 9°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid April in spring and again near late November in autumn. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. The season on Beauty Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. For a change of water, Howard Lake is 0.6 miles distant. Rules at Beauty Lake are worth checking on the day.