Kickapoo Lake in Gogebic County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Kickapoo Lake lies in Gogebic County, in Michigan. The water sits 1,637 feet up. At 14 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Michigan listings. The closest town, Eagle River, is 25 miles away. Then Lac du Flambeau, 26 miles, and Wakefield, 27 miles. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Kickapoo Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. County-wide records name bluegill, yellow perch and walleye. The county list is broader than any single water. At Kickapoo Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 9°F in January and 65°F in July. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. The water is typically free of ice between late April and late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Anyone fishing Kickapoo Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Inkpot Lake is 0.5 miles distant. Ask locally about Kickapoo Lake if anything is unclear.