Cedar Lake Fishing Guide, Cook County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Cedar Lake stands in Cook County, Minnesota. Beyond the shoreline you have mixed forest. With some 77 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The edge runs 1.5 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Compared with other Minnesota water on our list, it sits high. 29 miles away sits Grand Marais, the nearest town. Then Silver Bay, 30 miles, and Ely, 45 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Cedar Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Fish documented in Cook County include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Cedar Lake fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 64°F and January about 6°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. On Cedar Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Failing this one, try Wringer Lake, 1.6 miles away. Nothing on Cedar Lake should be assumed from this page alone.