Kelly Lake Fishing near Keewatin, Minnesota

• Overview

  Within Saint Louis County, Minnesota, you have Kelly Lake. The water sits 1,490 feet up. This is a pocket water of some 16 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Our Saint Louis County list holds plenty of bigger water. Keewatin lies 3.3 miles from the water. Further out sit Hibbing (3.3 miles) and Chisholm (7.6 miles). Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Kelly Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Survey and observation records for Saint Louis County include yellow perch, northern pike and white sucker. 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

  Averages here run 67°F at the top of summer and 5°F at the bottom of winter. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid April. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. That shapes the year on Kelly Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. A car park lies half a mile away, so the walk in is short. A platform or pier sits within 80 yards. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Failing this one, try Snowshoe Lake, 0.4 miles away. Where Kelly Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.