Upper Pickerel Lake Fishing in Manistee County, Michigan

• Overview

  Michigan holds Upper Pickerel Lake, in Manistee County. Elevation runs to 771 feet. Small at around 7 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Manistee County. Baldwin lies 18 miles from the water. For a city, Grand Rapids is 83 miles off. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Upper Pickerel Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Species logged across Manistee County include alewife, rainbow smelt, bloater, johnny darter and lake trout. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Treat Upper Pickerel Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 68°F, the coldest about 20°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. After early April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Expect the water usable from around early April until roughly mid December. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Upper Pickerel Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Some banks are open only from a marked point. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Middle Pickerel Lake is 0.2 miles distant. Where Upper Pickerel Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.