Fishing at Bolen Lake, Newaygo County, Michigan

• Overview

  Bolen Lake is one of the Newaygo County waters in Michigan. The surface lies 827 feet up. The water measures roughly 16 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Start from White Cloud, 5 miles down the road. For a city, Grand Rapids is 38 miles off. Close neighbours run: Kemperman Lake at 0.4 miles, Crystal Lake (1.1 miles), Ryerson Lake at 1.5 miles, Mud Lake (1.7 miles) and Little Robinson Lake at 1.9 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Bolen Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. 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. Records held for Newaygo County cover largemouth bass, bluegill, yellow perch, johnny darter and white sucker. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Treat Bolen Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 69°F at the top of summer and 21°F at the bottom of winter. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. After early April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early April until roughly mid December. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Bolen Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. For a change of water, Kemperman Lake is 0.4 miles distant. Check the position at Bolen Lake before loading the car.