Stump Lake is a lake in North Dakota, near Nelson County.
Stump Lake is a lake in Nelson County, North Dakota, and covers about 17,680.7 acres, reaches about 77.1 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 641,805.5 acre-feet.
Stump Lake is big water, and a useful pattern in one arm may not carry to the far end of the lake. Deep water at Stump Lake gives fish room to move away from shore as summer heat and bright light build.
Stump Lake sits on the east side of the Devils Lake system. Rising water connected the two, but Stump keeps its own steep shorelines, flooded wood, and deep pockets.
Treat the flooded trees as edges, not as one solid target. Fish the outside row first, then move inside only when bites prove fish are buried in the wood. Perch and walleye may also use open breaks where hard bottom meets softer lake floor.
Fish listed for Stump Lake include Northern Pike, Walleye, White Bass, and Yellow Perch.
For walleye, work a jig and minnow, a live-bait rig, or a light crankbait along points and the first drop.
One useful yellow perch plan is to keep a small jig tipped with a minnow or worm close to the bottom on a flat beside deeper water.
Begin the northern pike search by trying to cover weed edges and shallow points with a spoon, spinnerbait, or minnow-shaped lure.
For white bass, cast a light spoon, jig, or minnow bait where wind or current gathers baitfish.
For a simple plan, do not let the deepest number control the whole day; nearby cover, firm bottom, and food usually matter more than the deepest hole by itself.
In practice, shallow water is worth a careful look in spring and again during fall; bright summer days favor shade, weeds, or deeper breaks; under ice, a light depth change can be more useful than a long shift.
In practice, a medium spinning setup with 8- to 10-pound line handles most jigs and light casting baits; add a stronger outfit and a proper leader when northern pike are the target.
After a bite, write down productive depth, cover, water color, and wind; those clues make the next trip easier to plan than a list of random places.
As a starting point, keep the first hour simple: try one moving bait to find active fish, slow down with a jig or natural bait on the strongest edge, and repeat the same setup when two bites come from matching depth and bottom during that part of the trip.
High water joined the lakes, allowing fish to move between them while each water kept different depth and shoreline features.
Begin on the outside edge and on points in the tree line, where a jig can be worked without spending every cast in a snag.
Check hard-bottom breaks with a jig and minnow for walleye or yellow perch before searching featureless deep water.
Explore nearby waters, including local Featured destinations. Check each page for access and fishing restrictions.
Distances are straight-line estimates between mapped water locations.