Little Mud Hen Lake in Saint Louis County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Little Mud Hen Lake is set in Saint Louis County, Minnesota. Elevation runs to 1,355 feet. At about 69 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. A shoreline of some 1.5 miles keeps the choices simple. Gilbert sits 12 miles from the bank. Thunder Bay sits 159 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Little Mud Hen Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Reported across Saint Louis County: yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker and rainbow trout. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Work Little Mud Hen Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 65°F in July and bottom out at 4°F in January. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Ice is part of the season here, ending near late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Little Mud Hen Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Mud Hen Lake sits 1.2 miles off and takes the overflow. Signs at Little Mud Hen Lake carry more weight than any list.