Fishing Lily Lake in Keweenaw County, Michigan

• Overview

  The Keweenaw County end of Michigan holds Lily Lake. Elevation runs to 597 feet. At about 31 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The edge runs 1.0 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Michigan listings. You are 32 miles from Laurium. Thunder Bay is the closest city, 91 miles away. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lily Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Open biodiversity records for Keweenaw County list rainbow smelt, yellow perch, white sucker and cisco. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Anyone new to Lily Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between February at about 17°F and July at about 63°F, the water has a wide range to work through. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Ice is part of the season here, ending near late April. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at early December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. On Lily Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Recorded parking is half a mile off, far enough to travel light. A pier or jetty stands 120 yards away, which helps on a crowded bank. Toilets show in mapping about half a mile away. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Mud Lake, 0.5 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. The position on Lily Lake is worth confirming on the day.