Fishing at Neff Lake, Saint Louis County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Neff Lake is one of the Saint Louis County listings for Minnesota. The bank is 1,401 feet above sea level. At about 32 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. There is roughly 1.1 miles of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Nearest town is Aurora, 4.5 miles off. For a city, Thunder Bay is 151 miles off. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Neff Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Records held for Saint Louis County cover yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker, rainbow trout and walleye. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Neff Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 65°F, the coldest about 3°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. From about late April to around late November, expect open water on the long-run figures. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. At Neff Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Turpela Lake at 1.1 miles is the sensible second choice. Rules at Neff Lake are worth checking on the day.