Hicks Lake Fishing in Allegan County, Michigan

• Overview

  Hicks Lake sits within Allegan County in Michigan. Beyond the shoreline you have rolling bush. Surface area runs to about 18 acres — small enough to read in one session. Nearest place of any size is Otsego, 5.8 miles away. Grand Rapids is the closest city, 29 miles away. Others worth noting: Big Lake within 0.6 miles, Wetheral Lake (0.6 miles), Schnable Lake within 1.5 miles, Pickerel Lake (1.6 miles) and Caruthers Lake within 1.6 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Hicks Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Allegan County include alewife, rainbow smelt and yellow perch. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. On Hicks Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 71°F, with January the cold end at about 23°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late March. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late March and starts locking again about mid December. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Plan any trip to Hicks Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the carp, bait a margin spot and sit on it; corn and bread still work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Should this one be busy, Big Lake is 0.6 miles off. What applies at Hicks Lake may have changed since it was mapped.