Perch Lake Fishing near Munising, Michigan

• Overview

  Perch Lake sits within Alger County in Michigan. The country here is mixed forest. Surface area runs to about 17 acres — small enough to read in one session. For supplies, Munising is 24 miles out. Green Bay sits 162 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Perch Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Open biodiversity records for Alger County list yellow perch, rainbow smelt, northern pike, white sucker and rock bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Perch Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 16°F in January up to 64°F in July. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near early December. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. It holds true on Perch Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Greenway Lake, 1.2 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing here settles the position at Perch Lake for certain.