Bissell Pond, Michigan: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  You will find Bissell Pond in Grand Traverse County, Michigan. What surrounds it is rolling bush. Surface area runs to about 11 acres — small enough to read in one session. Rapid City is the closest town at 7.5 miles. Beyond it, Elk Rapids at 8.9 miles and Traverse City at 11 miles. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Bissell Pond

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Grand Traverse County cover rock bass, yellow perch, white sucker and smallmouth bass. The county list is broader than any single water. At Bissell Pond the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 21°F to 69°F. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. The season between ice runs from about mid April to mid December. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Bissell Pond fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Parking is mapped about half a mile from the bank. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Bullhead Lake is 3.2 miles off. For Bissell Pond, the notice at the access point is the final word.