Jig Lake near Ely: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  The Saint Louis County end of Minnesota holds Jig Lake. Lake country bush runs right down to the water. About 14 acres of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. On size it sits at the modest end of our Saint Louis County list. The nearest place of any size is Ely, 9.6 miles away. Then Babbitt, 19 miles, and Hoyt Lakes, 32 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Jig Lake

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Open biodiversity records for Saint Louis County list yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker and rainbow trout. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. At Jig Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 65°F and January about 2°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around late April. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Anyone fishing Jig Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. There is a campsite half a mile from the water. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Barefoot Lake, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Jig Lake as something to verify.