Gull Lake near Ely: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  This water sits in Saint Louis County, Minnesota. The water sits 1,365 feet up. Roughly 168 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. A shoreline of some 2.9 miles keeps the choices simple. For supplies, Ely is 15 miles out. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 121 miles away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Gull Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Survey and observation records for Saint Louis County include yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker and rainbow trout. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Fish Gull Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 65°F, while January sits near 3°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about mid November in an average year. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Plan any trip to Gull Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is a campsite half a mile from the water. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Mudhole Lake is 0.5 miles off. Nothing here settles the position at Gull Lake for certain.