Upper Hanson Lake in Itasca County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Upper Hanson Lake is an Itasca County water, Minnesota side. Elevation runs to 1,309 feet. With some 120 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. There is roughly 2.7 miles of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Coleraine lies 13 miles from the water. It is 162 miles to Fargo, the nearest city. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Upper Hanson Lake

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Survey and observation records for Itasca County include yellow perch, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Fish Upper Hanson Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 66°F and January at 5°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Winter locks it down, and mid April brings it back. Climate averages put the opening at about mid April and the closing near late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It sets the rhythm of the year at Upper Hanson Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. For a change of water, McAlpine Lake is 0.6 miles distant. None of that is settled for Upper Hanson Lake in what we hold.