Copper Lake in Keweenaw County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Copper Lake is one of the Keweenaw County listings for Michigan. The setting is mixed forest on every side. It is low-lying compared with other Michigan water we list. Laurium lies 31 miles from the water. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 94 miles away. Other water within reach: Hoar Lake at 1.2 miles, Lost Lake within 1.4 miles, Breakfast Lake at 2.7 miles, Bay Lake within 3.2 miles and Mud Lake at 3.6 miles. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Copper Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. County-wide records name rainbow smelt, yellow perch, white sucker and cisco. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Take Copper Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 63°F in August and bottoms out near 19°F in February. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The water is typically free of ice between late April and early December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Copper Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Hoar Lake at 1.2 miles is the sensible second choice. Nothing on Copper Lake should be assumed from this page alone.