Tarry Lake Fishing Guide, Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Tarry Lake lies in Lake County, in Minnesota. It sits in mixed forest. At about 38 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The edge runs 1.2 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Minnesota listings. Grand Marais is the closest town at 34 miles. After that come Ely at 44 miles and Babbitt at 52 miles. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Tarry Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Across Lake County, recorded fish include white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. On Tarry Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 64°F, while January sits near 4°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. On Tarry Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping shows a campsite some half a mile from the water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. 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. Should this one be busy, Crooked Lake is 0.7 miles off. The position on Tarry Lake is worth confirming on the day.