Celia Lake Fishing in Pope County, Minnesota

• Overview

  You will find Celia Lake in Pope County, Minnesota. Country round the bank runs to mixed forest. Roughly 97 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The nearest place of any size is Starbuck, 6.7 miles away. It is 112 miles to Fargo, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Celia Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Species logged across Pope County include largemouth bass, common carp, northern pike, yellow perch and black crappie. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Celia Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 71°F and January near 10°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Count the season from break-up, usually early April. On average, early April opens the water and late November closes it again. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Celia Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Lake Mary is 0.6 miles off. Treat access at Celia Lake as something to verify.