Marsh Lake Fishing in Otsego County, Michigan

• Overview

  Marsh Lake sits in Otsego County, out in Michigan. This is mixed forest country. Surface area runs to about 11 acres — small enough to read in one session. The nearest place of any size is Gaylord, 13 miles away. Grand Rapids is the closest city, 140 miles away. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork. Most of the shoreline can be walked in a session.

• Where to Fish on Marsh Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Otsego County cover rock bass, white sucker and largemouth bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Marsh Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 17°F and July at about 67°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around mid April. Expect the water usable from around mid April until roughly early December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. The season on Marsh Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Boats go in at Guthrie Lake Boat Launch, roughly half a mile from the water. Public data records a pier about half a mile out. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Section One Lake, 0.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. For Marsh Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.