Little Antler Lake, Minnesota: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Little Antler Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota. The setting is mixed forest on every side. It measures about 55 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The edge runs 1.2 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Keewatin is the closest place, 24 miles off. The big place round here is Fargo, 165 miles distant. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Little Antler Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Reported across Itasca County: yellow perch, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill and black crappie. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Little Antler Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 66°F, while January sits near 4°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Little Antler Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. For a change of water, Brush Shanty Lake is 0.9 miles distant. Check the current arrangement for Little Antler Lake.