Goose Lake near Fort Totten: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Within Eddy County, North Dakota, you have Goose Lake. Land around it is pine and birch. It runs to roughly 74 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Supplies mean a trip to Fort Totten, 11 miles off. New Rockford follows at 13 miles, then Devils Lake at 20 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Goose Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records held for Eddy County cover black bullhead, tadpole madtom, white sucker and blackside darter. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Read Goose Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 69°F, with January the cold end at about 5°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. On Goose Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Wood Lake at 8 miles is the sensible second choice. Treat Goose Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.