Fishing at Little Trout Lake, Saint Louis County, Minnesota

• Overview

  In Minnesota, Little Trout Lake falls inside Saint Louis County. The surroundings are mixed forest. Surface area runs to roughly 518 acres, so plan for one area rather than the whole. The margin runs to about 4.3 miles in total. Few waters listed in Saint Louis County are bigger. Ely lies 20 miles from the water. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 142 miles away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Little Trout Lake

  Sounding records show water to about 37 feet. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Fish documented in Saint Louis County include yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker, rainbow trout and walleye. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Little Trout Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 65°F and January reads 2°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about late November in an average year. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. That shapes the year on Little Trout Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Overnight stays are possible half a mile away. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Gowan Lake sits 1.8 miles off and takes the overflow. Treat access at Little Trout Lake as something to verify.