Mud Lake Fishing in Clinton County, Michigan

• Overview

  Set in Clinton County, Mud Lake is a Michigan water. It stands 837 feet above sea level. This is a pocket water of some 18 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. You are 2.9 miles from Bath. Haslett follows at 3 miles, then Okemos at 4.8 miles. Others within reach: Potter Lake at 0.4 miles, Rose Lake 0.6 miles, Fox Knoll Lake at 0.9 miles, Perch Lake 1.1 miles and Burke Lake at 1.6 miles. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Public occurrence data for Clinton County names bluegill, pink salmon, yellow perch, black crappie and largemouth bass. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. On Mud Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 21°F and July at about 70°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early April. Averages place the thaw at early April and the freeze at mid December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. It holds true on Mud Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. A parking area is marked roughly half a mile out. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. The nearest alternative is Potter Lake, 0.4 miles out. Confirm before you fish Mud Lake.