Big Norway Lake Fishing Guide, Clare County, Michigan

• Overview

  Michigan holds Big Norway Lake, in Clare County. Height above sea level is 1,060 feet. It runs to roughly 53 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The whole outline is near 1.5 miles, and most of it is walkable. Harrison is the closest town at 11 miles. It is 78 miles to Grand Rapids, the nearest city. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Big Norway Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Reported across Clare County: bluegill, largemouth bass and pink salmon. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Big Norway Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 19°F in January and 68°F in July. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Look for the thaw near early April; the fishing lifts straight after. Ice clears near early April and comes back about mid December in a typical year. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. On Big Norway Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Little Norway Lake is 0.9 miles distant. Nothing here settles the position at Big Norway Lake for certain.