No-see-um Lake in Saint Louis County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Out in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, sits No-see-um Lake. The water sits 1,332 feet up. At about 31 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Ely sits 15 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Babbitt follows at 29 miles, then Hoyt Lakes at 45 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on No-see-um Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Species logged across Saint Louis County include yellow perch, northern pike and white sucker. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Anyone new to No-see-um Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 65°F and January about 3°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. On average, late April opens the water and late November closes it again. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Time your trip to No-see-um Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Webfoot Lake, 1 mile away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing on No-see-um Lake should be assumed from this page alone.