Burrows Lake in Itasca County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Burrows Lake in the Itasca County part of Minnesota. This is rolling bush country. About 299 acres, so local knowledge or a boat saves a lot of walking. The shoreline runs about 5.7 miles, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. Size puts it in the front rank of our Itasca County list. Start from Coleraine, 17 miles down the road. Cohasset is 19 miles away, with Grand Rapids at 20 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Burrows Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. County-wide records name yellow perch, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill and black crappie. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Read Burrows Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 67°F and January at 5°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. The season on Burrows Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. The nearest alternative is Moon Lake, 0.9 miles out. Check the position on Burrows Lake before loading the car.