Pickerel Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Redfin Pickerel, Bluegill

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Redfin Pickerel, Bluegill, Cisco, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Pickerel Lake, 1 lane.

The lake

Pickerel Lake covers 301 acres in Michigan, across Newaygo County. It is a lake: 91.7% of it is 50 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 73 feet (22.3 m). Our records hold 11 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 73 ft (22.3 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.7% of the water is 50 feet or shallower. We hold 46 depth contour lines for this water.

Down Pickerel Lake (2688615207).jpg
Derek Hatfield from Peterborough, Canada · CC BY 2.0
  • 0–5 ft: 4% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 9.1% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 9.8% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 8.4% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 8.2% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 8.2% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 8% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 9.6% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 15.8% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 10.6% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 1.5% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 1.5% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 1.7% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 2.1% of the water
  • 70–73 ft: 1.5% of the water

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Redfin Pickerel — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Cisco — Feeding water: 40–60°F.
  • Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • Green Sunfish — Feeding water: 65–80°F.

Also recorded here: Brown Bullhead, Common Carp, Golden Shiner, Banded Killifish.

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 7.5–13.5 feet on our readings, averaging 10.7 feet, from 134 readings. Our water temperature readings average 75°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2019–2023.

Pickerel Lake (1).jpg
Gpwitteveen · CC BY-SA 3.0

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

  • Pickerel Lake — 1 lane, restrooms. Newaygo State Park. phone 231-856-4452

The place listed has no fee or opening hours on file: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

Pickerel Lake Cascade (2780714760).jpg
John Vetterli from Toronto, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0

What is hard here

Only 1 public ramp is on file, so the launch decides where you fish.

Where this data comes from

  • Michigan EGLE — Michigan EGLE: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.