Soap Lake Fishing Guide, Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Soap Lake sits in Lake County, out in Minnesota. The country round it is pine and birch from end to end. The water measures roughly 17 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Minnesota listings. Silver Bay is the closest place, 17 miles off. Babbitt is 30 miles and Ely 35 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Soap Lake

  This water is saline; the fishing interest, where it exists, sits in the feeder streams rather than the basin itself. If you are set on fishing this area, look to the rivers and fresh waters nearby instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish Soap Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 63°F and January near 4°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. It holds true on Soap Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Otter Lake sits 1.5 miles off and takes the overflow. Check the position on Soap Lake before loading the car.