Moth Lake in Alger County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Moth Lake lies in Alger County, in Michigan. Height above sea level is 866 feet. At roughly 9 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. On size it sits at the modest end of our Alger County list. Munising sits 7.3 miles from the bank. Beyond it, Manistique at 32 miles and K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base at 33 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Moth Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. 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. Reported across Alger County: yellow perch, rainbow smelt and northern pike. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Fish Moth Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 65°F and January at 15°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about early December. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Anyone fishing Moth Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Misty Lake is 0.4 miles off. For Moth Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.