Stewart Lake Fishing Guide, Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Set in Lake County, Minnesota, this is Stewart Lake. Around the bank it is pine and birch. Roughly 254 acres of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. You are looking at roughly 3.3 miles of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. Few waters listed in Lake County are bigger. Two Harbors lies 12 miles from the water. Thunder Bay sits 142 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Stewart Lake

  The basin drops to a measured 23 feet. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Survey and observation records for Lake County include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike and rainbow trout. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Fish Stewart Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 64°F on average, January about 5°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at late November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. It sets the rhythm of the year at Stewart Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Public data records a boat ramp half a mile out. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Black Lake sits 0.5 miles off and takes the overflow. Check the position at Stewart Lake before loading the car.