Shorty Lake Fishing Guide, Aitkin County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Look for Shorty Lake in Aitkin County, Minnesota. The ground round it is lake country bush. At about 25 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Cohasset sits 17 miles from the bank. Grand Rapids is 18 miles and Coleraine 23 miles. Others close at hand: Cranberry Lake 0.7 miles, Holy Water Lake 0.9 miles away, Shingle Mill Lake 2.3 miles, Sailor Lake 2.7 miles away and Thiebault Lake 3.5 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Shorty Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name northern pike, bluegill and yellow perch. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Read Shorty Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 5°F in January up to 67°F in July. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about late November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That shapes the year on Shorty Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. For a change of water, Cranberry Lake is 0.7 miles distant. Rules at Shorty Lake are worth checking on the day.