Cloverleaf Lake, Minnesota: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Minnesota holds Cloverleaf Lake, in Crow Wing County. The water sits 1,220 feet up. At about 33 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. About 1.0 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Pequot Lakes is the closest place, 1.5 miles off. Further out sit Breezy Point (3.3 miles) and Nisswa (4.6 miles). It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Cloverleaf Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Fish documented in Crow Wing County include largemouth bass, bluegill and yellow perch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Cloverleaf Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 7°F to 69°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Look for the thaw near mid April; the fishing lifts straight after. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Cloverleaf Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• 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. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Should this one be busy, Rice Lake is 0.9 miles off. Nothing on Cloverleaf Lake should be assumed from this page alone.