Pencil Lake Fishing Guide, Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Pencil Lake is set in Lake County, Minnesota. Height above sea level is 1,703 feet. Small at around 15 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Most waters listed here for Lake County are larger. Supplies mean a trip to Grand Marais, 30 miles off. Thunder Bay sits 80 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Pencil Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Open biodiversity records for Lake County list white sucker, yellow perch and northern pike. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. On Pencil Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 63°F and January near 5°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near late April. On average, late April opens the water and mid November closes it again. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Anyone fishing Pencil Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Should this one be busy, Chase Lake is 0.6 miles off. Check the current arrangement for Pencil Lake.