Telephone Lake Fishing Guide, Itasca County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Telephone Lake belongs to Itasca County, Minnesota. This is rolling bush ground. The water measures roughly 8 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. It is a small entry by Itasca County standards. The closest town, Cohasset, is 22 miles away. The big place round here is Fargo, 157 miles distant. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Telephone Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Species logged across Itasca County include yellow perch, largemouth bass and northern pike. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. On Telephone Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 67°F, with January the cold end at about 4°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Expect the water usable from around mid April until roughly late November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Expect Telephone Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Raft Lake sits 0.3 miles off and takes the overflow. Ask locally about Telephone Lake if anything is unclear.