Skeeter Lake in Itasca County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Itasca County, Skeeter Lake is a Minnesota water. Lake country bush runs right down to the water. With some 33 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Coleraine sits 12 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Fargo is the closest city, 160 miles away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Skeeter Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Public occurrence data for Itasca County names yellow perch, largemouth bass and northern pike. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Skeeter Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 66°F, with January the cold end at about 5°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid April in spring and again near late November in autumn. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Skeeter Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. The nearest alternative is Little Wolf Impoundment, 0.7 miles out. Confirm access to Skeeter Lake locally before you travel.