Fish Lake near Eagan: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  In Minnesota, Fish Lake belongs to Dakota County. The water sits 830 feet up. With some 29 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The whole outline is near 1.2 miles, and most of it is walkable. Ground here is low by Minnesota standards. Head to Eagan, 1.2 miles away, for anything you forgot. It is 9.3 miles to Saint Paul, the nearest city. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Fish Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Dakota County, recorded fish include bluegill, common carp and green sunfish. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Fish Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 72°F and January at 12°F. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early April. Break-up sits around early April on average, with the water closing again about early December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It sets the rhythm of the year at Fish Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Mapping shows a ramp about half a mile from the shore. Parking is close: a car park sits half a mile from the bank. A jetty or pier is mapped about 70 yards from here. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Hurley Lake is 0.6 miles off. Signs at Fish Lake carry more weight than any list.