Fishing at Howland Lake, Gladwin County, Michigan

• Overview

  This water sits in Gladwin County, Michigan. Elevation runs to 955 feet. At roughly 21 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. The nearest town is Harrison, 7.6 miles away. Gladwin lies 8.2 miles off, Beaverton another 11 miles. The boundary is near enough that local access rules are worth double-checking.

• Where to Fish on Howland Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. County-wide records name bluegill, largemouth bass, black crappie and northern pike. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Treat Howland Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 69°F and January reads 19°F. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around early April. Break-up sits around early April on average, with the water closing again about mid December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Howland Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Failing this one, try Drachenburg Lake, 0.8 miles away. Treat access at Howland Lake as something to verify.