Benton Lake Fishing in Newaygo County, Michigan

• Overview

  Out in Newaygo County, Michigan, sits Benton Lake. It lies 807 feet above sea level. It runs to roughly 32 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. About 1.0 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. The closest town, White Cloud, is 10 miles distant. Fremont is 14 miles and Baldwin 16 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Benton Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Open biodiversity records for Newaygo County list largemouth bass, bluegill and yellow perch. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Fish Benton Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 20°F to 69°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Ice-out usually falls in early April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Averages place the thaw at early April and the freeze at mid December. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. The season on Benton Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is a mapped slipway roughly half a mile away. You can camp about half a mile away, going by the mapping. Somewhere to sit and eat is half a mile out. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. If the gate is shut, Moon Lake at 0.6 miles is the nearest alternative. For Benton Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.