Fishing Prop Lake in Cook County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Prop Lake belongs to Cook County, Minnesota. It sits at 1,870 feet above sea level. Small at around 11 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Most waters listed here for Cook County are larger. For a base, Grand Marais sits 19 miles out. The big place round here is Thunder Bay, 62 miles distant. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Prop Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Across Cook County, recorded fish include white sucker, yellow perch and northern pike. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Fish Prop Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 63°F and January near 4°F. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Climate figures give an open season running late April to mid November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. On Prop Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. There is a toilet block some half a mile out. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Failing this one, try Gore Lake, 0.5 miles away. Check the current arrangement for Prop Lake.