Coon Lake Fishing in Nelson County, North Dakota

• Overview

  Coon Lake is one of the Nelson County waters in North Dakota. The country here is mixed forest. The water covers some 36 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The full circuit measures close to 1.0 miles on foot. Most waters listed here for Nelson County are larger. You are 24 miles from Devils Lake. It is 106 miles to Fargo, the nearest city. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Coon Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Reported across Nelson County: largemouth bass, northern pike and yellow perch. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. The near bank of Coon Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 4°F in January and 68°F in July. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Anyone fishing Coon Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Jones Lake at 3.4 miles is the sensible second choice. Where Coon Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.