Hay Wire Lake, Michigan: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Within Marquette County, Michigan, you have Hay Wire Lake. It stands 1,171 feet above sea level. At roughly 12 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Head to Gwinn, 4.3 miles away, for anything you forgot. K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base lies 8.9 miles off, Negaunee another 16 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Hay Wire Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Survey and observation records for Marquette County include white sucker, yellow perch, rainbow smelt and smallmouth bass. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Hay Wire Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 65°F, with January the cold end at about 14°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Break-up comes around mid April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Expect Hay Wire Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Miller Lake is 1.4 miles off. Nothing here settles the position at Hay Wire Lake for certain.