Fishing at Shoofly Lake, Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Shoofly Lake lies in Lake County, in Minnesota. The water sits 1,946 feet up. It covers about 10 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Lake County list. 23 miles away sits Silver Bay, the nearest town. The big place round here is Thunder Bay, 108 miles distant. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Shoofly Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Species logged across Lake County include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Shoofly Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 64°F on average, January about 4°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. Open water usually runs from late April until about mid November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Expect Shoofly Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. If the gate is shut, Byron Lake at 0.6 miles is the nearest alternative. Nothing here settles the position at Shoofly Lake for certain.