Popple Lake in Itasca County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Itasca County, Minnesota. It lies 1,325 feet above sea level. It runs to roughly 112 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The whole outline is near 1.4 miles, and most of it is walkable. Nearest town is Chisholm, 33 miles off. Further out sit Keewatin (34 miles) and Hibbing (35 miles). This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Popple Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Open biodiversity records for Itasca County list yellow perch, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill and black crappie. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Popple Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 66°F in July and bottoms out near 5°F in January. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. On average, late April opens the water and mid November closes it again. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Popple Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. For a change of water, Ryan Lake is 0.4 miles distant. For Popple Lake in particular, ask before you travel.