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

• Overview

  This water sits in Alger County, Michigan. The water sits 866 feet up. About 5 acres of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. On size it sits at the modest end of our Alger County list. Munising at 7.4 miles is the nearest place to stop. It is 139 miles to Green Bay, the nearest city. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Mouse Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Alger County, recorded fish include yellow perch, rainbow smelt and northern pike. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. At Mouse Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 65°F; by January the average is down near 15°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to early December. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. The season on Mouse Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Failing this one, try Kitten Lake, 0.4 miles away. Nothing here settles the position at Mouse Lake for certain.