Upstead Lake Fishing near Keewatin, Minnesota

• Overview

  Upstead Lake is a Saint Louis County water, in Minnesota. It sits at 1,306 feet above sea level. The water covers some 61 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The whole outline is near 1.2 miles, and most of it is walkable. The nearest town is Keewatin, 14 miles away. Further out sit Hibbing (15 miles) and Chisholm (20 miles). You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Upstead Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Records held for Saint Louis County cover yellow perch, northern pike and white sucker. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Anyone new to Upstead Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 66°F, with January the cold end at about 6°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Upstead Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Finberg Lake at 1.3 miles is the sensible second choice. Where Upstead Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.