Fishing Kelly Lake in Cook County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Look for Kelly Lake in the Cook County part of Minnesota. What surrounds it is pine and birch. It measures about 172 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Few waters listed in Cook County are bigger. Grand Marais at 24 miles is the nearest place to stop. Silver Bay is 45 miles and Ely 49 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Kelly Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Survey and observation records for Cook County include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike and rainbow trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Read Kelly Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 63°F and January at 5°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near mid November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. That shapes the year on Kelly Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Overnight stays are possible about half a mile out, where camping is mapped. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Gossip Lake is 0.9 miles off. For Kelly Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.