Fishing at Spring Lake, Beltrami County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Spring Lake is a Beltrami County water, Minnesota side. The country round it is rolling bush from end to end. Small at around 20 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. On size it sits at the modest end of our Beltrami County list. Some 12 miles away sits Bemidji, the nearest settlement. For a city, Fargo is 94 miles off. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Spring Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Fish documented in Beltrami County include walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, largemouth bass and white sucker. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Fish Spring Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 67°F at the top of summer and 3°F at the bottom of winter. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Look for the thaw near mid April; the fishing lifts straight after. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Spring Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Funkley Lake sits 0.9 miles off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Spring Lake in what we hold.