Fishing at North Blue Lake, Crawford County, Michigan

• Overview

  Crawford County, Michigan, is where North Blue Lake sits. The bank gives way to rolling bush. Roughly 55 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. With about 1.1 miles of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Mancelona is the closest town at 9.9 miles. For a city, Grand Rapids is 134 miles off. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on North Blue Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Survey and observation records for Crawford County include white sucker, rock bass and yellow perch. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Read North Blue Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 67°F on average, January about 17°F. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid April. From about mid April to around early December, expect open water on the long-run figures. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Expect North Blue Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Blue Lake, 0.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm before you fish North Blue Lake.