Dan Lake near Ely: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Dan Lake stands in Lake County, Minnesota. The setting is lake country bush. At roughly 7 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. On size it sits at the modest end of our Lake County list. The nearest town is Ely, 11 miles away. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 114 miles away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Dan Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Records held for Lake County cover white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike and rainbow trout. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. At Dan Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 65°F, while January sits near 3°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Dan Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. A campsite is mapped about half a mile away, which makes an early start easier. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Greenstone Lake, 0.8 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for Dan Lake.