Hessler Lake Fishing Guide, Presque Isle County, Michigan

• Overview

  Out in Presque Isle County, Michigan, sits Hessler Lake. Beyond the shoreline you have lake country bush. Surface area runs to about 5 acres — small enough to read in one session. On size it sits at the modest end of our Presque Isle County list. The nearest town is Rogers City, 19 miles away. Greater Sudbury is the closest city, 173 miles away. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Hessler Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Presque Isle County records list rainbow smelt, alewife, bloater and lake whitefish among the fish reported. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Hessler Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 17°F to 67°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and early December. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. That shapes the year on Hessler Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. 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. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. If the gate is shut, Krauth Lake at 0.4 miles is the nearest alternative. What applies at Hessler Lake may have changed since it was mapped.