Fishing at Clear Lake, Cass County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Clear Lake belongs to Cass County, Minnesota. It sits at 1,309 feet above sea level. The water covers some 114 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Bank access stretches around 1.7 miles in total. The town to know is Pequot Lakes, 14 miles out. Fargo sits 111 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Clear Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Survey and observation records for Cass County include largemouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill, walleye and northern pike. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Fish Clear Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 68°F and January near 6°F. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid April. The lid tends to go about mid April and return around late November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. That is the shape of the year on Clear Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. 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. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Boot Lake sits 1.1 miles off and takes the overflow. Treat Clear Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.