Clear Lake Fishing in Crawford County, Michigan

• Overview

  Out in Crawford County, Michigan, sits Clear Lake. The bank gives way to pine and birch. At roughly 5 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. On size it sits at the modest end of our Crawford County list. Some 12 miles away sits Grayling, the nearest settlement. Beyond it, Lewiston at 15 miles and Gaylord at 16 miles. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Clear Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Crawford County: white sucker, rock bass, yellow perch, largemouth bass and bluegill. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Work Clear Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 67°F in July and bottoms out near 17°F in January. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid April. Ice clears near mid April and comes back about early December in a typical year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Clear Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. If the gate is shut, Timber Lake at 0.9 miles is the nearest alternative. Where Clear Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.