Pendills Lake in Chippewa County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Chippewa County, Michigan. It sits at 630 feet above sea level. It runs to roughly 216 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The edge covers about 3.4 miles, enough to hold several distinct areas. Size puts it in the front rank of our Chippewa County list. Head to Sault Ste. Marie, 21 miles away, for anything you forgot. The nearest city of size is Greater Sudbury, 180 miles away. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Pendills Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Open biodiversity records for Chippewa County list rainbow smelt, bloater, lake whitefish and alewife. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Pendills Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 64°F for August and 16°F for January. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about early December. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Pendills Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. If the gate is shut, Bayou Pond at 1.1 miles is the nearest alternative. Check the position on Pendills Lake before loading the car.