Nolten Lake Fishing near Saint Ignace, Michigan

• Overview

  Look for Nolten Lake in Emmet County, Michigan. The water sits 702 feet up. For supplies, Saint Ignace is 12 miles out. For a city, Green Bay is 180 miles off. Within easy reach: Twin Lake near enough 0.9 miles, Dow Lake roughly 1.2 miles, Mud Lake near enough 2.6 miles and Sommers Lake roughly 2.7 miles. The boundary is near enough that local access rules are worth double-checking.

• Where to Fish on Nolten Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Survey and observation records for Emmet County include yellow perch, rock bass and smallmouth bass. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. At Nolten Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 16°F in January and 67°F in July. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to early December. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That is the shape of the year on Nolten Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Twin Lake at 0.9 miles is the sensible second choice. Nothing on Nolten Lake should be assumed from this page alone.