Fishing Little Rice Lake in Todd County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Little Rice Lake is a Todd County water, Minnesota side. The bank is 1,198 feet above sea level. With some 68 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Shoreline comes to about 1.5 miles, small enough to learn in a day. Long Prairie sits 6.3 miles from the bank. Then Little Falls, 18 miles, and Sauk Centre, 19 miles. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Little Rice Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Reported across Todd County: largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie, northern pike and yellow perch. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Little Rice Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 71°F, while January sits near 9°F. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough mid April. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Expect Little Rice Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Mud Lake sits 1.4 miles off and takes the overflow. For Little Rice Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.