Pine Lake, Minnesota: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Pine Lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota. It lies 1,188 feet above sea level. At some 386 acres it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. At about 6.2 miles of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Size puts it in the front rank of our Crow Wing County list. Crosslake sits 1.6 miles from the bank. Minneapolis is the closest city, 121 miles away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Pine Lake

  The basin drops to a measured 19 feet. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Records held for Crow Wing County cover largemouth bass, bluegill, yellow perch and northern pike. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Pine Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 69°F and January near 8°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and late November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. At Pine Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Little Bird Lake is 1.4 miles off. Nothing here settles the position at Pine Lake for certain.