Virginia Lake Fishing Guide, Saint Louis County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Virginia Lake stands in Saint Louis County, Minnesota. It lies 1,417 feet above sea level. The water covers some 29 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The town to know is Virginia, 0.3 miles out. Parkville follows at 1.9 miles, then Mountain Iron at 4 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end. It repays a second visit more than a first.

• Where to Fish on Virginia Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Records held for Saint Louis County cover yellow perch, northern pike and white sucker. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Virginia Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 4°F to 67°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about mid November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. The season on Virginia Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. A slipway half a mile out gives trailer access. There is a car park half a mile from the bank. There is a jetty 90 yards off, worth knowing on a busy day. There are picnic tables 140 yards away. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Should this one be busy, Silver Lake is 0.4 miles off. Confirm before you fish Virginia Lake.