Fishing Highland Lake in Anoka County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Minnesota holds Highland Lake, in Anoka County. The ground around here is lake country bush. At 14 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. On size it sits at the modest end of our Anoka County list. Nearest place of any size is New Brighton, 1.6 miles away. Then Columbia Heights, 1.9 miles, and Fridley, 2.4 miles. It sits near the edge of the county, so check which rules apply.

• Where to Fish on Highland Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Across Anoka County, recorded fish include bluegill, common carp and black crappie. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Highland Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 73°F in July and bottom out at 13°F in January. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early April. Climate figures give an open season running early April to early December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Anyone fishing Highland Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. You can leave the car about half a mile from the water. A picnic site half a mile off makes this workable with family in tow. A toilet block sits half a mile away. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. For a change of water, Sullivan Lake is 1.1 miles distant. Nothing here settles the position at Highland Lake for certain.