Jerky Lake in Lake County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Jerky Lake stands in Lake County, Minnesota. This is pine and birch country. It covers about 8 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Lake County. 20 miles away sits Ely, the nearest town. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 106 miles away. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Jerky Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for Lake County names white sucker, yellow perch and northern pike. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Jerky Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 4°F in January and 65°F in July. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near late April. From about late April to around late November, expect open water on the long-run figures. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Plan around that when you fish Jerky Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Griddle Lake sits 0.7 miles off and takes the overflow. For Jerky Lake in particular, ask before you travel.