Gifford Lake in Presque Isle County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Gifford Lake is one of the Presque Isle County listings for Michigan. Height above sea level is 801 feet. It runs to roughly 26 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. You are 13 miles from Rogers City. Beyond it, Indian River at 30 miles and Lewiston at 32 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Gifford Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Presque Isle County records list rainbow smelt, alewife, bloater, lake whitefish and lake trout among the fish reported. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Gifford Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 67°F in July and bottom out at 18°F in January. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about early December. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Gifford Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Twin Lakes, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. For Gifford Lake in particular, ask before you travel.