Lake Winnibigoshish Fishing Guide, Cass County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Look for Lake Winnibigoshish in Cass County, Minnesota. This is pine and birch country. This is big water, about 87.1 sq miles, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. The outline is heavily broken, with arms and bays reaching well back from the main body. On our Cass County list it sits near the top for size. Head to Cohasset, 30 miles away, for anything you forgot. Further out sit Bemidji (31 miles) and Grand Rapids (35 miles). One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lake Winnibigoshish

  The basin has been measured to about 80 feet. Held water runs deepest at the wall and shallows back to the inflow. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Fish documented in Cass County include largemouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill and walleye. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Lake Winnibigoshish the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 68°F; the cold one sits at 5°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Lake Winnibigoshish fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Being publicly held, the water is generally open for fishing. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. For a change of water, Tamarack Lake is 4.7 miles distant. Where Lake Winnibigoshish is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.