Cranberry Lake near Manistique: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Set in Schoolcraft County, Cranberry Lake is a Michigan water. The setting is rolling bush on every side. It covers about 6 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is a small entry by Schoolcraft County standards. The town to know is Manistique, 14 miles out. The nearest city of size is Green Bay, 130 miles away. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Cranberry Lake

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Schoolcraft County: rainbow smelt, alewife, bloater and yellow perch. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. On Cranberry Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 65°F at the top of summer and 15°F at the bottom of winter. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. The open-water window runs from around mid April to about early December in an average year. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. The season on Cranberry Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. If the gate is shut, Banana Lake at 0.3 miles is the nearest alternative. None of that is settled for Cranberry Lake in what we hold.