Fishing Trout Lake in Saint Louis County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Trout Lake is a Saint Louis County water, Minnesota side. Beyond the shoreline you have lake country bush. Surface area runs to some 12.7 sq miles, so a boat and a plan are both worth having. There is roughly 53 miles of bank, and each arm behaves like its own water. Few waters listed in Saint Louis County are bigger. 21 miles away sits Ely, the nearest town. Babbitt is 25 miles and Aurora 30 miles. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Trout Lake

  Depth records show about 107 feet at the bottom of the basin. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Saint Louis County records list yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker, rainbow trout and walleye among the fish reported. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. At Trout Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 65°F, with January the cold end at about 2°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near late November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. It holds true on Trout Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Facilities run to toilets half a mile from the water. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. The nearest alternative is Merritt Lake, 2.1 miles out. Check the position on Trout Lake before loading the car.