Spot 4 Fishing near Bloomington, Minnesota

• Overview

  Spot 4 sits in Dakota County, out in Minnesota. Elevation runs to 679 feet. Bloomington is the closest town at 3.4 miles. Saint Paul sits 11 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Round about: Black Dog Lake at 2.1 miles, Oxboro Lake 2.5 miles away, Blackhawk Lake at 2.5 miles, Gun Club Lake 3.3 miles away and Fish Lake at 3.4 miles. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on Spot 4

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Fish documented in Dakota County include bluegill, common carp, green sunfish, black crappie and black bullhead. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. On this water that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 73°F at the top of summer and 13°F at the bottom of winter. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. After early April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Averages place the thaw at early April and the freeze at early December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Plan around that when you fish this water.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Mapping shows a ramp about half a mile from the shore. Parking is close: a car park sits half a mile from the bank. There is a jetty half a mile off, worth knowing on a busy day. Toilets show in mapping about half a mile away. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. If the gate is shut, Black Dog Lake at 2.1 miles is the nearest alternative. Check the position at this water before loading the car.