Clear Lake Fishing near Lake Shore, Minnesota

• Overview

  In Minnesota, Clear Lake belongs to Cass County. The surface lies 1,467 feet up. With some 26 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The nearest place of any size is Lake Shore, 9.8 miles away. Pequot Lakes lies 13 miles off, Nisswa another 13 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Clear Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Open biodiversity records for Cass County list largemouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill and walleye. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Anyone new to Clear Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 6°F to 68°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid April. Climate averages put the opening at about mid April and the closing near late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Clear Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Deer Lake is 1.1 miles off. Treat access at Clear Lake as something to verify.