Fishing at Minnow Lake, Saint Louis County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Minnow Lake sits in Saint Louis County, out in Minnesota. Height above sea level is 1,467 feet. About 10 acres of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. Most waters listed here for Saint Louis County are larger. You are 9.9 miles from Mountain Iron. After that come Parkville at 10 miles and Virginia at 11 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Minnow Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Records held for Saint Louis County cover yellow perch, northern pike and white sucker. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Fish Minnow Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 65°F, with January the cold end at about 4°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near mid 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. Minnow Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Arrowhead Lake, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Minnow Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.