Woods Lake Fishing in Kalamazoo County, Michigan

• Overview

  Michigan holds Woods Lake, in Kalamazoo County. The country round it is rolling bush from end to end. It covers about 24 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. There is roughly 0.9 miles of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. The closest town, Kalamazoo, is 2.5 miles distant. The nearest city of size is Grand Rapids, 48 miles away. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Woods Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Open biodiversity records for Kalamazoo County list bluegill, largemouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass and pumpkinseed. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Woods Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 23°F to 72°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late March. Open water usually runs from late March until about mid December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Time your trip to Woods Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is recorded parking some half a mile off. Toilets show in mapping about half a mile away. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Pikes Pond at 0.6 miles is the sensible second choice. Check the position at Woods Lake before loading the car.