Fishing at Perch Lake, Alger County, Michigan

• Overview

  Look for Perch Lake in the Alger County part of Michigan. It stands 840 feet above sea level. The water covers some 119 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. With about 3.1 miles of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Few waters listed in Alger County are bigger. Head to Munising, 3.3 miles away, for anything you forgot. After that come Harvey at 31 miles and K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base at 31 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Perch Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Across Alger County, recorded fish include yellow perch, rainbow smelt, northern pike, white sucker and rock bass. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Treat Perch Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 64°F and January at 16°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Once it clears, about mid April, the fishing comes on quickly. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near early December: that is the shape of an average year. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. It holds true on Perch Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is Mud Lake, 0.6 miles out. For Perch Lake in particular, ask before you travel.