Buckeye Lake, Michigan: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  In Michigan, Buckeye Lake belongs to Ontonagon County. This is lake country bush country. It covers about 5 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Most waters listed here for Ontonagon County are larger. You are 26 miles from Iron River. For a city, Green Bay is 137 miles off. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Buckeye Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Reported across Ontonagon County: yellow perch, pink salmon, walleye, brook trout and northern pike. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. The shape of Buckeye Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 10°F to 64°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. That shapes the year on Buckeye Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Locust Pond, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. For Buckeye Lake in particular, ask before you travel.