Fishing at Roberts Lake, Cheboygan County, Michigan

• Overview

  Roberts Lake falls in Cheboygan County, part of Michigan. The ground round it is pine and birch. It measures about 74 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Roughly 1.5 miles of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Michigan listings. Indian River lies 2.9 miles from the water. Cheboygan is 18 miles and Petoskey 19 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Roberts Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Cheboygan County include yellow perch, rock bass, white sucker, smallmouth bass and northern pike. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. At Roberts Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 67°F, while January sits near 18°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. Ice clears near mid April and comes back about early December in a typical year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. On Roberts Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is a mapped slipway roughly half a mile away. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Cochran Lake is 0.6 miles off. Treat access at Roberts Lake as something to verify.