Fourth Lake Fishing near Hillsdale, Michigan

• Overview

  Fourth Lake lies within the bounds of Hillsdale County, Michigan. Height above sea level is 1,089 feet. At about 47 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Roughly 1.2 miles of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. The closest town, Hillsdale, is 3 miles distant. The big place round here is Ann Arbor, 52 miles distant. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Fourth Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Reported across Hillsdale County: bluegill, largemouth bass, yellow perch and black crappie. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Read Fourth Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 21°F to 71°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near late March. Break-up sits around late March on average, with the water closing again about mid December. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Anyone fishing Fourth Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is a mapped slipway roughly half a mile away. There is a marina, Lakeshore Marine, half a mile away. Someone has mapped a fishing spot 0.9 miles off. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. The nearest alternative is Boot Lake, 0.4 miles out. Treat Fourth Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.