Pickerel Lake Fishing Guide, Itasca County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Out in Itasca County, Minnesota, sits Pickerel Lake. Elevation runs to 1,322 feet. The water covers some 42 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. About 1.1 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. For supplies, Coleraine is 10 miles out. The big place round here is Fargo, 156 miles distant. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Pickerel Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Fish documented in Itasca County include yellow perch, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Read Pickerel Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 5°F and July at about 67°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Break-up comes around mid April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. On Pickerel Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Spruce Lake, 0.4 miles away. Nothing here settles the position at Pickerel Lake for certain.