Fishing at Neds Lake, Schoolcraft County, Michigan

• Overview

  Neds Lake sits in Schoolcraft County, out in Michigan. The country here is pine and birch. At 14 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. You are 15 miles from Munising. Further out sit Manistique (22 miles) and Gladstone (35 miles). Within a short drive: Center Lake sits 0.2 miles out, McInnes Lake (0.7 miles), Vance Lake sits 0.7 miles out, Klondike Lake (0.9 miles) and Coattail Lake sits 1 mile out. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Neds Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Survey and observation records for Schoolcraft County include rainbow smelt, alewife, bloater and yellow perch. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Take Neds Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 65°F in July and bottoms out near 15°F in January. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about early December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Time your trip to Neds Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. 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. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Center Lake, 0.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Neds Lake as something to verify.