Mud Lake Fishing near Long Prairie, Minnesota

• Overview

  Todd County in Minnesota is where Mud Lake sits. Height above sea level is 1,250 feet. With some 91 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The edge runs 1.8 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Long Prairie is the closest town at 11 miles. After that come Staples at 16 miles and Little Falls at 22 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Survey and observation records for Todd County include largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie and northern pike. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Read Mud Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 70°F, the coldest about 8°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from mid April. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Mud Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Part of this sits inside or beside Turtle Creek Wildlife Management Area, so read the notices. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Round Lake at 1.2 miles is the sensible second choice. Nothing here settles the position at Mud Lake for certain.