Rat Lake in Cass County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Cass County, Minnesota. The surroundings are rolling bush. At about 110 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The edge runs 2.1 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Nearest place of any size is Crosslake, 30 miles away. Pequot Lakes is 31 miles and Breezy Point 32 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Rat Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Cass County cover largemouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill and walleye. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Rat Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 68°F; the cold one sits at 6°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to late November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Rat Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. The nearest alternative is Haynes Lake, 0.7 miles out. Check the current arrangement for Rat Lake.