Hotfoot Lake Fishing in Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  You will find Hotfoot Lake in Lake County, Minnesota. The bank gives way to pine and birch. This is a pocket water of some 18 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. It is high ground by Minnesota standards. Supplies mean a trip to Ely, 37 miles off. It is 88 miles to Thunder Bay, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Hotfoot Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Fish documented in Lake County include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike and rainbow trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Hotfoot Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 64°F and January near 4°F. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about mid November in an average year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Hotfoot Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Overnight stays are possible about half a mile out, where camping is mapped. Part of this sits inside or beside 3, so read the notices. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Failing this one, try Churn Lake, 0.2 miles away. Check the position at Hotfoot Lake before loading the car.