Fishing at Hawks Nest Lake, Saint Louis County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Set in Saint Louis County, Hawks Nest Lake is a Minnesota water. This is mixed forest country. At 9 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Saint Louis County. Ely lies 6.9 miles from the water. Babbitt is 21 miles and Hoyt Lakes 36 miles. The county line runs close by, so rules can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Hawks Nest Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Open biodiversity records for Saint Louis County list yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker, rainbow trout and walleye. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Anyone new to Hawks Nest Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 3°F in January and 65°F in July. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. From about late April to around late November, expect open water on the long-run figures. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Hawks Nest Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. The nearest alternative is Bright Lake, 0.7 miles out. Where Hawks Nest Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.