Kirby Lake Fishing Guide, Oakland County, Michigan

• Overview

  Set in Oakland County, Michigan, this is Kirby Lake. The water sits 925 feet up. At 9 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Oakland County. You are 4.8 miles from Holly. It is 29 miles to Sterling Heights, the nearest city. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Kirby Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Oakland County records list bluegill, black crappie, largemouth bass, yellow perch and rock bass among the fish reported. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Kirby Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 70°F and January about 22°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Ice-out usually falls in early April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The open-water window runs from around early April to about mid December in an average year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Plan around that when you fish Kirby Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. A car park lies half a mile away, so the walk in is short. There is a jetty half a mile off, worth knowing on a busy day. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. For a change of water, Long Lake is 0.8 miles distant. Nothing on Kirby Lake should be assumed from this page alone.