Clear Lake in Missaukee County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Missaukee County entry here is Clear Lake, in Michigan. What surrounds it is pine and birch. With some 30 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. With about 0.9 miles of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Manton sits 5.9 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Grand Rapids sits 98 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Clear Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Missaukee County, recorded fish include white sucker, johnny darter and brook trout. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Clear Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 67°F; the cold one sits at 18°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Break-up comes around mid April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid April in spring and again near early December in autumn. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Clear Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Whitlock Lake at 0.7 miles is the sensible second choice. Treat access at Clear Lake as something to verify.