Fishing Roach Lake in Gogebic County, Michigan

• Overview

  Set in Gogebic County, Roach Lake is a Michigan water. What surrounds it is mixed forest. With some 83 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The bank runs about 1.9 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. It ranks high for size among our Gogebic County listings. The closest town, Lac du Flambeau, is 24 miles away. Wakefield follows at 25 miles, then Eagle River at 26 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Roach Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. County-wide records name bluegill, yellow perch, walleye, largemouth bass and white sucker. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. The near bank of Roach Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 65°F on average, January about 9°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late April. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly late November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. On Roach Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Guido Rahr, Sr. Tenderfoot Forest Reserve covers this ground, which means extra rules to check. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is Mirror Lake, 0.6 miles out. None of that is settled for Roach Lake in what we hold.