Olson Lake Fishing near Ortonville, Minnesota

• Overview

  Look for Olson Lake in the Big Stone County part of Minnesota. The bank is 1,073 feet above sea level. Roughly 74 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. A shoreline of some 1.7 miles keeps the choices simple. Nearest town is Ortonville, 7.2 miles off. Fargo sits 103 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Olson Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Public occurrence data for Big Stone County names common carp, yellow perch, walleye, black bullhead and orangespotted sunfish. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Read Olson Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 10°F to 72°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early April. The open-water window runs from around early April to about late November in an average year. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Olson Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Thielke Lake Wildlife Management Area takes in this water; protected-area rules will apply. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Swenson Lake is 0.5 miles off. Treat access at Olson Lake as something to verify.