Hay Lake Fishing near Keewatin, Minnesota

• Overview

  Hay Lake is set in Itasca County, Minnesota. It stands 1,342 feet above sea level. With some 25 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Keewatin lies 7.9 miles from the water. For a city, Minneapolis is 160 miles off. Water in the same corner: Moose Lake 1.4 miles off, Nameless Lake just 1.6 miles, Bengal Lake 1.7 miles off, Little Island Lake just 2 miles and Little Fowler Lake 2.5 miles off. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Hay Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Reported across Itasca County: yellow perch, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill and black crappie. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Hay Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 66°F and January near 5°F. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about mid April until roughly late November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. The season on Hay Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. 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. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. For a change of water, Moose Lake is 1.4 miles distant. Check the current arrangement for Hay Lake.