Gopher Tail Lake near Larimore: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  The Grand Forks County entry here is Gopher Tail Lake, in North Dakota. It sits in mixed forest country. Small at around 19 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. On size it sits at the modest end of our Grand Forks County list. Larimore is the closest town at 13 miles. Then Grand Forks Air Force Base, 24 miles, and Park River, 33 miles. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Gopher Tail Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Open biodiversity records for Grand Forks County list blackside darter, johnny darter, black bullhead and shorthead redhorse. The county list is broader than any single water. Gopher Tail Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 3°F to 68°F. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around mid April. The open-water window runs from around mid April to about mid November in an average year. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. The season on Gopher Tail Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. If the gate is shut, Lake Pickard at 1.3 miles is the nearest alternative. Nothing here settles the position at Gopher Tail Lake for certain.