Fishing Rice Pond in Clare County, Michigan

• Overview

  Within Clare County, Michigan, you have Rice Pond. The bank is 1,096 feet above sea level. At about 70 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Shoreline comes to about 1.8 miles, small enough to learn in a day. Few waters listed in Clare County are bigger. You are 8.7 miles from Harrison. The nearest city of size is Grand Rapids, 91 miles away. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on Rice Pond

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Records held for Clare County cover bluegill, largemouth bass and pink salmon. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Rice Pond gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 68°F at the top of summer and 18°F at the bottom of winter. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. After early April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Averages place the thaw at early April and the freeze at early December. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. The season on Rice Pond follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Haskell Lake, 1.5 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Rice Pond as something to verify.