Bill Lake Fishing in Hubbard County, Minnesota

• Overview

  The Hubbard County end of Minnesota holds Bill Lake. The water sits 1,358 feet up. Roughly 26 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. It is a small entry by Hubbard County standards. 3.6 miles away sits Menahga, the nearest town. The big place round here is Fargo, 83 miles distant. The county line runs close by, so rules can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Bill Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Fish documented in Hubbard County include walleye, northern pike and black crappie. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. At Bill Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 69°F in July and bottoms out near 5°F in January. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about mid April until roughly late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Anyone fishing Bill Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Twin Lakes sits 0.8 miles off and takes the overflow. Confirm before you fish Bill Lake.