Fishing at Whiskey Lake, Aitkin County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Whiskey Lake is listed under Aitkin County, Minnesota. Around the bank it is pine and birch. Surface area runs to about 6 acres — small enough to read in one session. Our Aitkin County list holds plenty of bigger water. The nearest town is Cohasset, 23 miles away. The big place round here is Minneapolis, 140 miles distant. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Whiskey Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Records held for Aitkin County cover northern pike, bluegill, yellow perch, black crappie and largemouth bass. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Fish Whiskey Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 67°F and January at 6°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about late November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Anyone fishing Whiskey Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. The nearest alternative is Lake on Three, 0.7 miles out. The position on Whiskey Lake is worth confirming on the day.