Fishing at Red Lake, Itasca County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Minnesota holds Red Lake, in Itasca County. Beyond the shoreline you have mixed forest. About 11 acres of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. Most waters listed here for Itasca County are larger. The nearest place of any size is Chisholm, 29 miles away. After that come Keewatin at 31 miles and Hibbing at 31 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Red Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Public occurrence data for Itasca County names yellow perch, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill and black crappie. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Read Red Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 5°F in January to roughly 66°F in July. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. That is the shape of the year on Red Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Mirror Lake is 1.1 miles off. Confirm before you fish Red Lake.