Fishing Donken Lake in Houghton County, Michigan

• Overview

  Donken Lake stands in Houghton County, Michigan. Elevation runs to 1,243 feet. Surface area runs to about 14 acres — small enough to read in one session. Head to Atlantic Mine, 14 miles away, for anything you forgot. It is 103 miles to Thunder Bay, the nearest city. Others within reach: Mud Lake sits 1.9 miles out, Seventeenmile Lake lies 2 miles on, Stonington Lake sits 2.2 miles out, Lake Ongie lies 2.5 miles on and Lake Gerald sits 2.7 miles out. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Donken Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Reported across Houghton County: rainbow smelt, bloater and cisco. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Donken Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 13°F in January up to 64°F in July. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about late November. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Donken Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Walleye come to jigs worked slow near bottom, and to trolled crankbaits along the drops at dusk. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Mud Lake is 1.9 miles off. Where Donken Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.