Slim Lake, Minnesota: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Set in Saint Louis County, Slim Lake is a Minnesota water. The water sits 1,453 feet up. Surface area runs to roughly 310 acres, so plan for one area rather than the whole. The outline measures near 6.3 miles, so local knowledge counts. It ranks high for size among our Saint Louis County listings. Ely is the closest town at 8.7 miles. Babbitt is 21 miles away, with Hoyt Lakes at 35 miles. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Slim Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Saint Louis County include yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker, rainbow trout and walleye. The county list is broader than any single water. Anyone new to Slim Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 65°F and January about 2°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about mid November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Slim Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. A campsite is mapped about half a mile away, which makes an early start easier. 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. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Keneu Lake at 0.8 miles is the nearest alternative. Nothing here settles the position at Slim Lake for certain.