Wetzel Lake Fishing near Mancelona, Michigan

• Overview

  Antrim County, Michigan, is where Wetzel Lake sits. The surface lies 1,109 feet up. With some 27 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Start from Mancelona, 3.9 miles down the road. Grand Rapids is the closest city, 140 miles away. Others close at hand: Satterly Lake at 2.3 miles, Hawk Lake within 4.2 miles, Nelson Lake at 4.6 miles, Lake Harold within 4.7 miles and Peckham Lake at 4.8 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Wetzel Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Open biodiversity records for Antrim County list brook trout, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rock bass. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Wetzel Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 67°F for July and 18°F for January. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Break-up comes around mid April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Ice clears near mid April and comes back about early December in a typical year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Plan around that when you fish Wetzel Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. A boat ramp sits about 170 yards from the water. Public data has parking about half a mile from the shore. Facilities include toilets around half a mile from here. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Should this one be busy, Satterly Lake is 2.3 miles off. Signs at Wetzel Lake carry more weight than any list.