Smithsrund Lake Fishing in Bottineau County, North Dakota

• Overview

  Smithsrund Lake is one of the Bottineau County listings for North Dakota. The ground round it is pine and birch. Surface area is around 48 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Roughly 1.1 miles of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. Bottineau lies 6.3 miles from the water. Deloraine lies 22 miles off, Shell Valley another 23 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Smithsrund Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. 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 Bottineau County cover bluegill, brown bullhead and northern pike. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. On Smithsrund Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 66°F and January at 2°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near mid November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. On Smithsrund Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. 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. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Grigg Lake, 0.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Smithsrund Lake in what we hold.