Fishing at Little Dixon Lake, Itasca County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Within Itasca County, Minnesota, you have Little Dixon Lake. The land about it is pine and birch. The water covers some 29 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The full circuit measures close to 1.1 miles on foot. Some 29 miles away sits Bemidji, the nearest settlement. Fargo sits 128 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Little Dixon Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. County-wide records name yellow perch, largemouth bass and northern pike. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Little Dixon Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 4°F to 66°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Time your trip to Little Dixon Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. 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. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. For a change of water, Rosy Lake is 1.4 miles distant. Signs at Little Dixon Lake carry more weight than any list.