Fishing the Crane Lake area in the Spring
| Month | Avg. Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| March | 37° / 14° |
| April | 50° / 27° |
| May | 64° / 40° |
The murky waters of the area lakes warm up quicker than clear water lakes, so the spring fishing can be quite good here as waters warm up quickly once those warm spring air temperatures arrive in the area. Most anglers target walleye and smallmouth bass and you can find them much shallower in the spring. There is so much rock here and the rocky shorelines and points will hold lots of fish. It’s also easier to find the better-sized perch and crappie as they are much shallower this time of year.
Fishing the Crane Lake area in the Summer
| Month | Avg. Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| June | 74° / 51° |
| July | 77° / 55° |
| August | 76° / 53° |
In the summer, you will find a lot of fish move deeper. Fish the offshore structure and you’ll find fish. The reefs will hold walleye, smallmouth bass, pike and panfish. Because the water is murkier here, you will sometimes find some fish shallower in the summer than you would find compared to a lake with clearer water, so don’t rule out some of those reefs and humps that come up into shallower water. You will find some fish moving up into these shallower areas to grab an easy meal, then head down into deeper water to rest. The fishing remains good through the summer, but you just have to know how to fish deeper if you want to put more quality fish in the boat.
Fishing the Crane Lake area in the Fall
| Month | Avg. Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| September | 67° / 46° |
| October | 52° / 34° |
| November | 35° / 21° |
The fall offers some very good fishing. You will find a lot more fish move back into the shallower water along the rocky shorelines and points. Smallmouth bass get a lot easier to catch and some walleye will be mixed in the shallower water too. You will still find plenty of fish deeper, especially as water temperatures drop below 50 degrees. The reefs will hold larger schools of fish as we get closer to the end of fall. If you’re willing to battle the colder temperatures, you can still catch walleye, pike, smallmouth bass and perch.
Fishing the Crane Lake Area in the Winter (Ice Fishing)
| Month | Avg. Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| December | 22° / 6° |
| January | 18° / -2° |
| February | 23° / 0° |
The winter is not as popular of a time to visit as the summer, but there are plenty of people who spend some time here in the winter. The chamber does a good job listing the snowmobile trail reports to keep people up to date with the trail’s conditions. Fishing up here isn’t as easy as in the open water season because most people are boating into their resort or lake of choice in comfortable weather and no ice. That is kind of hard to do in the winter time. For the people that have the equipment and are up for a little adventure, you can still catch some fish out here in the winter, but it’s a little more work to do it. There are resorts open year-round, so that helps if you want to get out here and do some ice fishing.
