Big Bear Ponds Fishing in Chippewa County, Michigan

• Overview

  Big Bear Ponds is set in Chippewa County, Michigan. The surface lies 827 feet up. At 10 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Some 25 miles away sits Saint Ignace, the nearest settlement. After that come Newberry at 30 miles and Sault Ste. Marie at 34 miles. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Big Bear Ponds

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records held for Chippewa County cover rainbow smelt, bloater and lake whitefish. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Big Bear Ponds the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 65°F, while January sits near 15°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. In an average year the thaw lands around mid April and the freeze near early December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Anyone fishing Big Bear Ponds regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Fiftyfour Pond, 0.7 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Signs at Big Bear Ponds carry more weight than any list.