Rat Lake Fishing near Keewatin, Minnesota

• Overview

  Rat Lake sits within Itasca County in Minnesota. The water sits 1,368 feet up. This is a pocket water of some 23 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Keewatin at 23 miles is the nearest place to stop. For a city, Fargo is 167 miles off. Near neighbours include: Beaver Lake lies 1 mile on, Ann Lake roughly 1 mile, Link Lake lies 1.2 miles on, Antler Lake roughly 1.4 miles and Little Antler Lake lies 1.4 miles on. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Rat Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Records held for Itasca County cover yellow perch, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill and black crappie. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Treat Rat Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 66°F and January at 4°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about mid April until roughly late November. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. On Rat Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Beaver Lake sits 1 mile off and takes the overflow. For Rat Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.