MacNeil Pond Fishing near Mancelona, Michigan

• Overview

  MacNeil Pond falls in Crawford County, part of Michigan. The water sits 1,230 feet up. At 5 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Our Crawford County list holds plenty of bigger water. You are 7.4 miles from Mancelona. Grand Rapids sits 135 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on MacNeil Pond

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Crawford County cover white sucker, rock bass, yellow perch, largemouth bass and bluegill. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Fish MacNeil Pond to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 67°F and January about 17°F. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. In an average year the thaw lands around mid April and the freeze near early December. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. That shapes the year on MacNeil Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. A ramp at Starvation Lake Boat Launch is mapped half a mile away. A platform or pier sits within half a mile. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Waddell Pond is 0.2 miles off. Check the current arrangement for MacNeil Pond.