McIntire Lake Fishing near Wayland, Michigan

• Overview

  Look for McIntire Lake in the Allegan County part of Michigan. What surrounds it is pine and birch. At roughly 3 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. On size it sits at the modest end of our Allegan County list. Nearest town is Wayland, 1.9 miles off. Grand Rapids sits 22 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on McIntire Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Records held for Allegan County cover alewife, rainbow smelt and yellow perch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Anyone new to McIntire Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 71°F for July and 22°F for January. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Winter locks it down, and late March brings it back. Break-up near late March, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. At McIntire Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Carp respond to sweetcorn or boilies fished patiently on the bottom near feeding areas. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Bass Lake, 1 mile away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position at McIntire Lake before loading the car.