Fishing at Ox Camp Lake, Cass County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Within Cass County, Minnesota, you have Ox Camp Lake. The land about it is lake country bush. This is a pocket water of some 20 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Pequot Lakes lies 20 miles from the water. After that come Park Rapids at 24 miles and Breezy Point at 24 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Ox Camp Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Cass County, recorded fish include largemouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill and walleye. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Anyone new to Ox Camp Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 6°F in January and 68°F in July. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about late November. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. At Ox Camp Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Should this one be busy, Deer Lake is 0.6 miles off. Treat Ox Camp Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.