Timber Lake Fishing in Iron County, Michigan

• Overview

  Timber Lake is one of the Iron County listings for Michigan. It sits in pine and birch. It runs to roughly 54 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Shoreline comes to about 1.1 miles, small enough to learn in a day. Compared with other Michigan water on our list, it sits high. Nearest place of any size is Iron River, 9.4 miles away. The big place round here is Green Bay, 119 miles distant. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Timber Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name brown trout, yellow perch, northern pike, walleye and white sucker. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Timber Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 65°F in July and bottoms out near 9°F in January. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near late November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. On Timber Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Silver Lake is 0.6 miles off. Signs at Timber Lake carry more weight than any list.