Sunny Lake in Alcona County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Alcona County entry here is Sunny Lake, in Michigan. The ground around here is pine and birch. At 15 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. 16 miles away sits Hubbard Lake, the nearest town. For a city, Lansing is 135 miles off. Nearby, in order: Honawan Lake about 1.1 miles, Horseshoe Lake 1.4 miles away, Clear Lake about 2.6 miles, Hoist Lakes 2.6 miles away and Byron Lake about 2.7 miles. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Sunny Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Open biodiversity records for Alcona County list white sucker, rock bass and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Sunny Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 67°F in July and bottoms out near 18°F in January. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. Expect the water usable from around mid April until roughly early December. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. It holds true on Sunny Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. The nearest alternative is Honawan Lake, 1.1 miles out. None of that is settled for Sunny Lake in what we hold.