Cedar Lake Fishing near Marshall, Michigan

• Overview

  In Michigan, Cedar Lake belongs to Calhoun County. It lies 925 feet above sea level. At about 133 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The full circuit measures close to 1.7 miles on foot. Few waters listed in Calhoun County are bigger. Marshall sits 4.5 miles from the bank. Further out sit Homer (11 miles) and Brownlee Park (11 miles). No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Cedar Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Calhoun County records list bluegill, largemouth bass and black crappie among the fish reported. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Work Cedar Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 22°F and July at about 71°F, the water has a wide range to work through. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late March. Average temperatures cross freezing around late March in spring and again near mid December in autumn. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. On Cedar Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. East Cedar Lake, 0.9 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Ask locally about Cedar Lake if anything is unclear.