Fishing Cook County Lake in Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Lake County in Minnesota is where Cook County Lake sits. It stands 1,545 feet above sea level. Roughly 44 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Around 1.2 miles of margin, front to back. Grand Marais lies 40 miles from the water. After that come Ely at 41 miles and Babbitt at 50 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Cook County Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Fish documented in Lake County include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Cook County Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 65°F and January near 4°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about late November in an average year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. That shapes the year on Cook County Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Mapping shows a campsite some half a mile from the water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. The nearest alternative is Paco Lake, 0.2 miles out. The position on Cook County Lake is worth confirming on the day.