Blairs Lake in Marquette County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Marquette County, Michigan, this is Blairs Lake. It lies 1,119 feet above sea level. It covers about 3 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is a small entry by Marquette County standards. Start from Gwinn, 15 miles down the road. After that come K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base at 19 miles and Norway at 26 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Blairs Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name white sucker, yellow perch, rainbow smelt, smallmouth bass and northern pike. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Blairs Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 65°F in July and bottom out at 13°F in January. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about late November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Blairs Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. For a change of water, Lake Thirtysix is 4.5 miles distant. Signs at Blairs Lake carry more weight than any list.