Dashwa Lake Fishing near West Ishpeming, Michigan

• Overview

  You will find Dashwa Lake in Marquette County, Michigan. The bank gives way to lake country bush. This is a pocket water of some 10 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. It is high ground by Michigan standards. West Ishpeming is the closest place, 17 miles off. After that come Ishpeming at 19 miles and Negaunee at 21 miles. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Dashwa Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Open biodiversity records for Marquette County list white sucker, yellow perch, rainbow smelt and smallmouth bass. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. On Dashwa Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 64°F and January near 10°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Open water usually runs from late April until about late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Plan any trip to Dashwa Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Goose Lake at 2.5 miles is the sensible second choice. Where Dashwa Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.