Whigville Lake Fishing near Oxford, Michigan

• Overview

  In Michigan, Whigville Lake falls inside Oakland County. The surface lies 997 feet up. With some 49 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The edge runs 1.4 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Oxford is the closest place, 6.3 miles off. Almont is 7.4 miles away, with Lake Orion at 8.2 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Whigville Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Survey and observation records for Oakland County include bluegill, black crappie, largemouth bass and yellow perch. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Whigville Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 21°F in January to roughly 70°F in July. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. After early April the shallows warm and the fish move up. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early April and starts locking again about mid December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. On Whigville Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Should this one be busy, Brooks Lake is 0.7 miles off. Where Whigville Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.