Dipper Lake Fishing in Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  The Lake County end of Minnesota holds Dipper Lake. It sits at 1,480 feet above sea level. It covers about 11 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Lake County. 34 miles away sits Ely, the nearest town. Babbitt is 44 miles and Grand Marais 45 miles. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Dipper Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Survey and observation records for Lake County include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike and rainbow trout. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. The near bank of Dipper Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 65°F for July and 4°F for January. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The water is typically free of ice between late April and late November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Dipper Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. If the gate is shut, Sema Lake at 0.7 miles is the nearest alternative. Ask locally about Dipper Lake if anything is unclear.