Makada Lake Fishing near Grand Marais, Minnesota

• Overview

  The Cook County entry here is Makada Lake, in Minnesota. The water sits 1,785 feet up. It covers about 5 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is a small entry by Cook County standards. Grand Marais is the closest town at 10 miles. Thunder Bay sits 58 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Makada Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Reported across Cook County: white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. At Makada Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 63°F, with January the cold end at about 6°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about mid November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That shapes the year on Makada Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Pine Mountain Lake is 0.4 miles off. Ask locally about Makada Lake if anything is unclear.