Mud Lake near Stony Point: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  The Barry County end of Michigan holds Mud Lake. The water sits 928 feet up. The water covers some 46 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. With about 2.7 miles of edge, you can try several depths in one session. You are 2.2 miles from Stony Point. Further out sit South Gull Lake (6.5 miles) and Level Park-Oak Park (10 miles). This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Barry County records list bluegill, largemouth bass and yellow perch among the fish reported. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Read Mud Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 71°F, while January sits near 22°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Count the season from break-up, usually late March. Break-up near late March, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Mud Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Pleasant Lake sits 0.7 miles off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Mud Lake in what we hold.