Fern Lake Fishing in Iron County, Michigan

• Overview

  Fern Lake is an Iron County water, Michigan side. It lies 1,667 feet above sea level. Surface area runs to about 3 acres — small enough to read in one session. It is a small entry by Iron County standards. Start from Iron River, 7.9 miles down the road. It is 117 miles to Green Bay, the nearest city. It sits near the edge of the county, so check which rules apply.

• Where to Fish on Fern Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Iron County records list brown trout, yellow perch, northern pike and walleye among the fish reported. The county list is broader than any single water. Fish Fern Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 65°F in July and bottom out at 9°F in January. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. On average, late April opens the water and late November closes it again. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Anyone fishing Fern Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. 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. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Nelson Lake sits 0.4 miles off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Fern Lake for certain.