Blood Lake Fishing Guide, Hillsdale County, Michigan

• Overview

  This water sits in Hillsdale County, Michigan. What surrounds it is rolling bush. At 12 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. The town to know is Manitou Beach-Devils Lake, 8 miles out. Brooklyn lies 9.9 miles off, Vandercook Lake another 11 miles. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Blood Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Reported across Hillsdale County: bluegill, largemouth bass, yellow perch, black crappie and warmouth. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Blood Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 71°F; the cold one sits at 22°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late March. In an average year the thaw lands around late March and the freeze near mid December. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. That is the shape of the year on Blood Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Leave the car at Somerset SGA, about half a mile from the bank. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. If the gate is shut, Moon Lake at 0.4 miles is the nearest alternative. Check the current arrangement for Blood Lake.