Banks Lake, Michigan: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Banks Lake is listed under Gogebic County, Michigan. The surface lies 1,726 feet up. It is high ground by Michigan standards. Some 20 miles away sits Eagle River, the nearest settlement. The big place round here is Green Bay, 132 miles distant. Within a short drive: Loon Lake after 0.6 miles, Germain Lake (1.1 miles), Crooked Lake after 1.1 miles, Deer Island Lake (1.2 miles) and Fisher Lake after 1.5 miles. A county line runs close by, so local bylaws can differ within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Banks Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Public occurrence data for Gogebic County names bluegill, yellow perch, walleye, largemouth bass and white sucker. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Banks Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 65°F at the top of summer and 9°F at the bottom of winter. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The water is typically free of ice between late April and late November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. It holds true on Banks Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Loon Lake, 0.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. The position on Banks Lake is worth confirming on the day.