Pettit Lake near Newaygo: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Pettit Lake is one of the Newaygo County listings for Michigan. What surrounds it is mixed forest. It runs to roughly 172 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. With 3.2 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. It ranks high for size among our Newaygo County listings. Newaygo lies 6.2 miles from the water. Further out sit Howard City (11 miles) and White Cloud (11 miles). One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Pettit Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Newaygo County records list largemouth bass, bluegill and yellow perch among the fish reported. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Fish Pettit Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 70°F and January reads 21°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early April. The open-water window runs from around early April to about mid December in an average year. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Expect Pettit Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Pine Street Boat Launch provides a boat ramp about half a mile away. The closest car park is half a mile away, so pack accordingly. Public toilets are recorded roughly half a mile off. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. If the gate is shut, Bills Lake at 1.5 miles is the nearest alternative. Confirm before you fish Pettit Lake.