Thermal Lake Fishing near Ely, Minnesota

• Overview

  Thermal Lake stands in Lake County, Minnesota. It lies 1,358 feet above sea level. It covers about 15 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Lake County list. Ely lies 21 miles from the water. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 104 miles away. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Thermal Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. 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. Public occurrence data for Lake County names white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike and rainbow trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Treat Thermal Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 65°F; by January the average is down near 4°F. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly late November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Thermal Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. A campsite is mapped about half a mile away, which makes an early start easier. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. If the gate is shut, Jinx Lake at 0.6 miles is the nearest alternative. Confirm access to Thermal Lake locally before you travel.