Fishing Pleasant Lake in Oakland County, Michigan

• Overview

  Pleasant Lake lies in Oakland County, Michigan. Beyond the shoreline you have pine and birch. It measures about 88 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. It is among the larger waters listed here for Oakland County. Head to Waterford, 3.8 miles away, for anything you forgot. Sterling Heights sits 21 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Pleasant Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name bluegill, black crappie, largemouth bass and yellow perch. The county list is broader than any single water. At Pleasant Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 22°F to 71°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Once it clears, about late March, the fishing comes on quickly. Break-up near late March, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Time your trip to Pleasant Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. A slipway half a mile out gives trailer access. Public data has parking about half a mile from the shore. There is a toilet block some 0.9 miles out. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Foxdale Lake is 0.6 miles distant. Where Pleasant Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.