Third Lake Fishing near Thessalon, Michigan

• Overview

  Set in Chippewa County, Michigan, this is Third Lake. Everything around it is pine and birch. It covers about 24 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Bank access stretches around 0.9 miles in total. It is low-lying compared with other Michigan water we list. Head to Thessalon, 15 miles away, for anything you forgot. It is 127 miles to Greater Sudbury, the nearest city. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Third Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Fish documented in Chippewa County include rainbow smelt, bloater, lake whitefish and alewife. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Read Third Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 65°F; by January the average is down near 16°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around mid April. The season between ice runs from about mid April to early December. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. It sets the rhythm of the year at Third Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Failing this one, try Stevens Lake, 1.1 miles away. Confirm before you fish Third Lake.