Ruby Lake Fishing near Coleraine, Minnesota

• Overview

  Ruby Lake is an Itasca County water, Minnesota side. Everything around it is pine and birch. Surface area is around 235 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. You are looking at roughly 3.4 miles of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. On our Itasca County list it sits near the top for size. Supplies mean a trip to Coleraine, 17 miles off. Cohasset lies 18 miles off, Grand Rapids another 20 miles. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Ruby Lake

  Measured depth reaches about 100 feet at the deepest point. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Itasca County include yellow perch, largemouth bass and northern pike. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Ruby Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 67°F; by January the average is down near 4°F. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Count the season from break-up, usually 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. The season on Ruby Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Pickerel Lake, 0.7 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm access to Ruby Lake locally before you travel.