Fishing at Conic Lake, Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  The Lake County entry here is Conic Lake, in Minnesota. The country round it is pine and birch from end to end. Surface area runs to about 18 acres — small enough to read in one session. Ely lies 38 miles from the water. Grand Marais is 46 miles away, with Babbitt at 48 miles. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Conic Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. 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 Lake County include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike and rainbow trout. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Conic Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 65°F; by January the average is down near 4°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. That is the shape of the year on Conic Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Failing this one, try Dutton Lake, 0.4 miles away. What applies at Conic Lake may have changed since it was mapped.