Eli Lake, Minnesota: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  You will find Eli Lake in Big Stone County, Minnesota. Beyond the shoreline you have lake country bush. Surface area is around 149 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Shoreline comes to about 2.7 miles, small enough to learn in a day. Start from Ortonville, 11 miles down the road. Milbank is 20 miles and Wheaton 24 miles. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Eli Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Big Stone County, recorded fish include common carp, yellow perch, walleye and black bullhead. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Eli Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 72°F, with January the cold end at about 10°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early April. Ice clears near early April and comes back about late November in a typical year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Eli Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. If the gate is shut, Cup Lake at 1.7 miles is the nearest alternative. What applies at Eli Lake may have changed since it was mapped.