Sisson Lake in Newaygo County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Newaygo County, Michigan. The water sits 860 feet up. The water covers some 31 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The whole outline is near 1.0 miles, and most of it is walkable. For a base, Baldwin sits 7.5 miles out. Reed City lies 17 miles off, White Cloud another 17 miles. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on Sisson Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Newaygo County records list largemouth bass, bluegill and yellow perch among the fish reported. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. The near bank of Sisson Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 68°F on average, January about 20°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early April. Break-up near early April, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Sisson Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is a mapped landing stage half a mile away. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. If the gate is shut, Lilley Lake at 0.4 miles is the nearest alternative. Rules at Sisson Lake are worth checking on the day.