Ellis Lake in Douglas County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Ellis Lake is set in Douglas County, Minnesota. It sits at 1,378 feet above sea level. It measures about 50 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Shoreline comes to about 1.5 miles, small enough to learn in a day. Our Douglas County list holds plenty of bigger water. Parkers Prairie is the closest town at 10 miles. Alexandria lies 12 miles off, Osakis another 19 miles. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Ellis Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. 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. Open biodiversity records for Douglas County list largemouth bass, common carp, bluegill and yellow perch. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Anyone new to Ellis Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 70°F and January reads 8°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Winter locks it down, and mid April brings it back. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. The season on Ellis Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Spring Lake sits 1.1 miles off and takes the overflow. Check the current arrangement for Ellis Lake.