Fishing Kidney Lake in Cass County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Minnesota holds Kidney Lake, in Cass County. The bank gives way to pine and birch. Around 53 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. A shoreline of some 1.3 miles keeps the choices simple. Nearest place of any size is Crosslake, 20 miles away. Breezy Point is 26 miles away, with Pequot Lakes at 28 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Kidney Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Reported across Cass County: largemouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill, walleye and northern pike. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Take Kidney Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 67°F for July and 6°F for January. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Break-up comes around mid April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Averages suggest open water from about mid April through to roughly late November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. At Kidney Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Coffin Lake, 0.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for Kidney Lake.