Lake Winona Fishing near Winona, Minnesota

• Overview

  The Winona County entry here is Lake Winona, in Minnesota. Everything around it is rolling bush. With some 223 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The shoreline runs about 3.5 miles, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. It is the biggest water on our Winona County list. You are 0.9 miles from Winona. After that come Goodview at 3.4 miles and Trempealeau at 9.9 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Lake Winona

  Measured depth reaches about 43 feet at the deepest point. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Survey and observation records for Winona County include rainbow trout, brown trout, common carp and bluegill. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. The shape of Lake Winona decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 72°F; by January the average is down near 14°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Winter locks it down, and early April brings it back. Averages suggest open water from about early April through to roughly early December. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Lake Winona runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is a mapped slipway roughly half a mile away. Parking is close: a car park sits half a mile from the bank. A platform or pier sits within half a mile. There is a toilet block some half a mile out. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Should this one be busy, Yeomans Pond is 2.2 miles off. Nothing here settles the position at Lake Winona for certain.