Day Lake Fishing near Chisholm, Minnesota

• Overview

  Saint Louis County in Minnesota is where Day Lake sits. It sits at 1,414 feet above sea level. The water covers some 122 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The full circuit measures close to 2.2 miles on foot. For supplies, Chisholm is 6.8 miles out. The big place round here is Minneapolis, 176 miles distant. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Day Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Public occurrence data for Saint Louis County names yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker and rainbow trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Day Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 5°F in January up to 66°F in July. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. From about late April to around mid November, expect open water on the long-run figures. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Time your trip to Day Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Kleffman Lake, 1.2 miles away. Treat access at Day Lake as something to verify.