Spring Lake in Washtenaw County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Spring Lake in the Washtenaw County part of Michigan. The surface lies 971 feet up. At roughly 20 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Chelsea sits 4 miles from here and is the nearest stop. It is 19 miles to Ann Arbor, the nearest city. The boundary is near enough that local access rules are worth double-checking.

• Where to Fish on Spring Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Open biodiversity records for Washtenaw County list bluegill, largemouth bass and rock bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Spring Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 22°F and July at about 71°F, the water has a wide range to work through. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The lid usually goes in late March, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Climate figures give an open season running late March to mid December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It holds true on Spring Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. A boat ramp sits about half a mile from the water. A pier half a mile from here gives a platform over deeper water. Mapping records toilets within half a mile. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Mill Lake at 0.6 miles is the sensible second choice. Rules at Spring Lake are worth checking on the day.