Long Lake Fishing in Stearns County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Look for Long Lake in Stearns County, Minnesota. Everything around it is pine and birch. With some 82 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Bank access stretches around 2.9 miles in total. 5 miles away sits Melrose, the nearest town. Albany is 8.7 miles and Sauk Centre 12 miles. Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Long Lake

  The charted maximum sits at about 69 feet. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Reported across Stearns County: largemouth bass, bluegill, northern pike and walleye. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. At Long Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 71°F for July and 10°F for January. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Break-up comes around early April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Break-up near early April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. That is the shape of the year on Long Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Swamp Lake at 0.6 miles is the sensible second choice. Where Long Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.