Section Thirty Lake in Saint Louis County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Saint Louis County, Minnesota. Around the bank it is pine and birch. Small at around 21 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. On size it sits at the modest end of our Saint Louis County list. Head to Ely, 32 miles away, for anything you forgot. Beyond it, Parkville at 33 miles and Mountain Iron at 33 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Section Thirty Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. County-wide records name yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker, rainbow trout and walleye. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Section Thirty Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 4°F and July at about 65°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly mid November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. It sets the rhythm of the year at Section Thirty Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. 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. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Failing this one, try Winchester Lake, 2.5 miles away. Confirm before you fish Section Thirty Lake.