Sand Lake in Ontonagon County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Sand Lake lies in Ontonagon County, Michigan. Height above sea level is 1,460 feet. This is a pocket water of some 15 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Compared with other Michigan water on our list, it sits high. For supplies, Iron River is 31 miles out. It is 138 miles to Thunder Bay, the nearest city. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Sand Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Ontonagon County records list yellow perch, pink salmon, walleye and brook trout among the fish reported. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Sand Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 65°F in July and bottom out at 10°F in January. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about late April until roughly late November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Sand Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Barclay Pond is 0.6 miles off. For Sand Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.