Cranbrook Lake in Oakland County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Cranbrook Lake is listed under Oakland County, Michigan. It lies 804 feet above sea level. The water measures roughly 11 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Nearest place of any size is Bloomfield Hills, 0.9 miles away. Birmingham follows at 2.4 miles, then Beverly Hills at 3.5 miles. Within a short drive: Endicott Lake some 0.7 miles off, Vhay Lake (1.3 miles), Gilbert Lake some 1.9 miles off, Orange Lake (2 miles) and Minnow Lake some 2.2 miles off. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Cranbrook Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. County-wide records name bluegill, black crappie and largemouth bass. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Cranbrook Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 24°F to 73°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late March. The season between ice runs from about late March to late December. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Cranbrook Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. A parking area is marked roughly half a mile out. Fishing from a pier is possible half a mile away. There are picnic tables recorded roughly half a mile off. Toilets are half a mile away, which matters on a long session. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Endicott Lake is 0.7 miles distant. None of that is settled for Cranbrook Lake in what we hold.