Best Fishing Spots in Michigan

Michigan does something no other state manages: it puts a lake district inside a metropolitan area. Oakland County, immediately north of Detroit, holds more mapped water than any other county in the state, because glacial kettle country happened to be built over. Elsewhere the pattern is conventional, with the Upper Peninsula counties of Marquette, Gogebic and Schoolcraft holding remote water and short seasons. The state DNR counts 10,899 inland lakes of five acres or more, and four Great Lakes sit on the doorstep besides. Elevation barely moves, so differences come from latitude and access rather than relief. Almost all the mapped water is natural lake, and the split that matters is between the peninsulas: weeknight fishing in the south, trip fishing in the north. Our listings for Michigan run to 6,527 waters in 84 counties. The bulk are natural lakes; reservoirs account for most of what is left. By area the leader is Lake Michigan, close to 22,339 sq miles. Where depth is recorded, Lake Michigan goes deepest at roughly 922 feet. The spread runs from about 19°F in winter to 68°F in summer. Break-up usually falls near mid April on the average figures. Records return yellow perch, bluegill, northern pike and rock bass more often than anything else....