Rice Lake Fishing near Bemidji, Minnesota

• Overview

  Look for Rice Lake in Beltrami County, Minnesota. Beyond the shoreline you have pine and birch. At about 35 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The nearest town is Bemidji, 22 miles away. Redby is 34 miles away, with Red Lake at 37 miles. Near neighbours: Bog Lake 2.4 miles off, 2.4 miles away is Burns Lake, Popple Lake 2.6 miles off, 2.8 miles away is Kenogama Lake and Moose Lake 2.9 miles off. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Rice Lake

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across Beltrami County, recorded fish include walleye, yellow perch and northern pike. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Take Rice Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 67°F, the coldest about 4°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from mid April. The season between ice runs from about mid April to mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Time your trip to Rice Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. 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. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Bog Lake is 2.4 miles distant. Nothing on Rice Lake should be assumed from this page alone.