Fishing Clearwater Lake in Beltrami County, Minnesota

• Overview

  This water sits in Beltrami County, Minnesota. The water sits 1,263 feet up. This is sizeable water at about 983 acres, and a boat opens up most of it. With 7.0 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. It is among the larger waters listed here for Beltrami County. Little Rock sits 9.9 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Red Lake is 13 miles and Redby 16 miles. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Clearwater Lake

  Surveys put the deepest water at about 69 feet. 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. Open biodiversity records for Beltrami County list walleye, yellow perch and northern pike. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Read Clearwater Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 67°F and January reads 3°F. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from mid April. Ice clears near mid April and comes back about mid November in a typical year. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Plan around that when you fish Clearwater Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It is an impounded water, so levels are managed and can shift through the year. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. The nearest alternative is Haggerty Lake, 1.7 miles out. Check the position on Clearwater Lake before loading the car.