Rice Lake, Minnesota: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Minnesota holds Rice Lake, in Beltrami County. Everything around it is pine and birch. With some 114 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. There is roughly 2.8 miles of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Red Lake is the closest place, 8 miles off. Redby follows at 8.5 miles, then Little Rock at 9.4 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Rice Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Beltrami County records list walleye, yellow perch and northern pike among the fish reported. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. At Rice Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 67°F in July and bottom out at 3°F in January. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. In an average year the thaw lands around mid April and the freeze near mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Rice Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Fahul Lake at 1.2 miles is the sensible second choice. For Rice Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.