Ellingson Lake, Minnesota: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Otter Tail County entry here is Ellingson Lake, in Minnesota. This is mixed forest country. It runs to roughly 146 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Bank access stretches around 2.0 miles in total. The nearest place of any size is Parkers Prairie, 13 miles away. New York Mills follows at 21 miles, then Perham at 24 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Ellingson Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Survey and observation records for Otter Tail County include largemouth bass, black crappie and walleye. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Ellingson Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 70°F for July and 7°F for January. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. Ice clears near mid April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. It sets the rhythm of the year at Ellingson Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. For a change of water, Siverson Lake is 0.8 miles distant. Rules at Ellingson Lake are worth checking on the day.