Tillie Lake Fishing Guide, Antrim County, Michigan

• Overview

  Out in Antrim County, Michigan, sits Tillie Lake. Height above sea level is 1,122 feet. It covers about 2 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Our Antrim County list holds plenty of bigger water. The closest town, Mancelona, is 2.5 miles away. Grand Rapids is the closest city, 135 miles away. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Tillie Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Antrim County records list brook trout, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rock bass among the fish reported. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. On Tillie Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 67°F; by January the average is down near 18°F. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at early December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Tillie Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. The nearest alternative is Peckham Lake, 1.7 miles out. Signs at Tillie Lake carry more weight than any list.