Pickerel Lake near Carson City: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Ionia County, Michigan, is where Pickerel Lake sits. Elevation runs to 764 feet. Surface area runs to about 8 acres — small enough to read in one session. The nearest place of any size is Carson City, 7.3 miles away. It is 36 miles to Lansing, the nearest city. Round about: Hammell Lake just 0.5 miles, Snow Lake within 3.6 miles, Horseshoe Lake just 5.5 miles, Woodard Lake within 5.9 miles and Baker Lake just 5.9 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Pickerel Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Across Ionia County, recorded fish include rainbow darter, bluegill and largemouth bass. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. On Pickerel Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 71°F; the cold one sits at 21°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice-out usually falls in early April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The open-water window runs from around early April to about mid December in an average year. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. At Pickerel Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Should this one be busy, Hammell Lake is 0.5 miles off. Where Pickerel Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.