Fishing Lake Bailey in Keweenaw County, Michigan

• Overview

  The Keweenaw County end of Michigan holds Lake Bailey. The setting is pine and birch on every side. Around 208 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. Some 3.1 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. On our Keweenaw County list it sits near the top for size. Laurium lies 22 miles from the water. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 83 miles away. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lake Bailey

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Survey and observation records for Keweenaw County include rainbow smelt, yellow perch, white sucker and cisco. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Lake Bailey a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 63°F, the coldest about 16°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough late April. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly late November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Time your trip to Lake Bailey by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. A ramp at Lake Bailey Boat Launch is mapped half a mile away. A carry of half a mile from the nearest parking is the price of fishing here. A jetty or pier is mapped about half a mile from here. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. North Pond, 1.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Lake Bailey as something to verify.