Hansen Lake

This Price County water is Hansen Lake, a lake with the latest inventory showing about 22 acres and a maximum depth of 16 feet, and that is the kind of basic information I actually want before fishing somewhere new.

Start with the basics

I would make the first trip about learning the water, not conquering it by spending the early part of the day on the best bank cover, any obvious weeds, and the deepest water I can reach because the easiest way to waste a day is to keep moving without learning anything.

What you can fish for

For this exact water, the recorded fish are Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Perch; and that gives me a simple starting point with weeds, wood, rock, or docks for bass and weeds and easy cover for panfish, and use the first few bites to narrow the plan.

Keeping the first trip simple

If a buddy asked me how to start on Hansen Lake, I would fish what is in front of me instead of trying to make the lake match an old report, and I would make a quick regulation check part of the trip plan, not an afterthought at the ramp.