Handsome Lake Fishing Guide, Oakland County, Michigan

• Overview

  You will find Handsome Lake in Oakland County, Michigan. Around the bank it is pine and birch. At roughly 21 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. The town to know is Oxford, 1.9 miles out. Sterling Heights is the closest city, 19 miles away. Close by you have: Grampian Lake 0.3 miles away, Lake Erin at 0.4 miles, Ploss Lake 0.8 miles away, Oxford Lake at 0.8 miles and Bailey Lake 0.8 miles away. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Handsome Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Public occurrence data for Oakland County names bluegill, black crappie and largemouth bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Anyone new to Handsome Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 22°F in January and 70°F in July. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early April. Climate averages put the opening at about early April and the closing near mid December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Plan around that when you fish Handsome Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. A launch point is recorded some 0.9 miles off. Parking sits half a mile out, which makes for a walk with tackle. There is a jetty 0.9 miles off, worth knowing on a busy day. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. For a change of water, Grampian Lake is 0.3 miles distant. Where Handsome Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.