Fishing Upper Lake in Dakota County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Within Dakota County, Minnesota, you have Upper Lake. Elevation runs to 696 feet. At 7 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. On size it sits at the modest end of our Dakota County list. Some 1.6 miles away sits Mendota Heights, the nearest settlement. West Saint Paul follows at 3 miles, then Longfellow Community at 4.3 miles. A county line runs close by, so local bylaws can differ within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Upper Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Survey and observation records for Dakota County include bluegill, common carp, green sunfish, black crappie and black bullhead. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Read Upper Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 73°F and January near 13°F on the long-run figures. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly early April. The lid tends to go about early April and return around early December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. On Upper Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Launching is possible: a slipway lies half a mile off. Moorings are at Watergate Marina, roughly half a mile off. You can leave the car about half a mile from the water. There is a jetty half a mile off, worth knowing on a busy day. A toilet block sits half a mile away. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Crosby Lake sits 0.6 miles off and takes the overflow. Signs at Upper Lake carry more weight than any list.