Fishing at Hassel Lake, Saint Louis County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Hassel Lake lies in Saint Louis County, Minnesota. The bank is 1,503 feet above sea level. Surface area is around 68 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. About 1.6 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Nearest place of any size is Ely, 11 miles away. It is 135 miles to Thunder Bay, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Hassel Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Open biodiversity records for Saint Louis County list yellow perch, northern pike and white sucker. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Treat Hassel Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 65°F for July and 2°F for January. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around late April. The water is typically free of ice between late April and mid November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. The season on Hassel Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Saca Lake sits 0.5 miles off and takes the overflow. Signs at Hassel Lake carry more weight than any list.