Hidden Lake Fishing in Leelanau County, Michigan

• Overview

  Hidden Lake is set in Leelanau County, Michigan. The ground round it is pine and birch. It is pond-in-a-field scale, with the far bank a short lob away. Most waters listed here for Leelanau County are larger. For supplies, Greilickville is 18 miles out. Traverse City follows at 20 miles, then Elk Rapids at 25 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Hidden Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Open biodiversity records for Leelanau County list alewife, rock bass, yellow perch and Chinook salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. On Hidden Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 68°F in July and bottom out at 22°F in January. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early April. Expect the water usable from around early April until roughly mid December. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Hidden Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Parking sits half a mile out, which makes for a walk with tackle. Facilities run to toilets 0.9 miles from the water. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Hatt Pond sits 0.6 miles off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Hidden Lake for certain.