Dam Lake Fishing in Alger County, Michigan

• Overview

  The Alger County end of Michigan holds Dam Lake. The country here is lake country bush. It measures about 54 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The town to know is Munising, 16 miles out. Gladstone is 27 miles away, with Manistique at 28 miles. Close neighbours run: Cranberry Lake out at 0.5 miles, Slowfoot Lake at 0.6 miles, West Branch Lake out at 1.3 miles, Bass Lake at 2 miles and Round Lake out at 2.4 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Dam Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Reported across Alger County: yellow perch, rainbow smelt, northern pike, white sucker and rock bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Dam Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 65°F in July and bottom out at 15°F in January. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near early December: that is the shape of an average year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. The season on Dam Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Cranberry Lake at 0.5 miles is the sensible second choice. Treat access at Dam Lake as something to verify.