Mud Lake Fishing, SW of Fergus Falls, Minnesota

• Overview

  Mud Lake is one of the Otter Tail County listings for Minnesota. The surroundings are rolling bush. With some 107 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The edge runs 1.5 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. You are 13 miles from Fergus Falls. After that come Pelican Rapids at 19 miles and Perham at 20 miles. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Otter Tail County records list largemouth bass, black crappie, walleye and bluegill among the fish reported. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. At Mud Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 70°F, the coldest about 6°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly mid April. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about late November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. On Mud Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Jones Lake, 0.8 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position at Mud Lake before loading the car.