Fishing at Sunfish Lake, Washington County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Washington County, Minnesota, is where Sunfish Lake sits. The bank is 886 feet above sea level. At about 70 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. A shoreline of some 1.5 miles keeps the choices simple. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Minnesota listings. Lake Elmo lies 0.9 miles from the water. It is 11 miles to Saint Paul, the nearest city. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Sunfish Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Open biodiversity records for Washington County list bluegill, largemouth bass and brown trout. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. On Sunfish Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 12°F and July at about 72°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early April. The open-water window runs from around early April to about late November in an average year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Sunfish Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. You will be walking about half a mile from the nearest car park. Mapping records toilets within half a mile. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Failing this one, try Veronica Pond, 1.1 miles away. Where Sunfish Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.