Fishing at Hula Lake, Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Look for Hula Lake in Lake County, Minnesota. Elevation runs to 1,319 feet. It measures about 130 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The bank runs about 2.8 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. The closest town, Ely, is 14 miles distant. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 111 miles away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Hula Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across Lake County, recorded fish include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike and rainbow trout. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Hula Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 65°F; the cold one sits at 3°F. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It holds true on Hula Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is camping recorded roughly half a mile off. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Good Lake at 0.9 miles is the sensible second choice. Nothing on Hula Lake should be assumed from this page alone.