Fishing Report For Elk Lake, MI

By Rick Seaman

March 3, 2025

Popular Fish Species Reports
Elk Lake Fishing Video
Available Fish Species
Today's Weather & Forecast
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Marinas
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Fishing License
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Fishing Report Elk Lake, MI

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Elk Lake, MI

Smallmouth Bass

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Very Good To Excellent

Springtime in Elk Lake is the time to catch some real quality smallmouth bass. There are lots of smallies in the 3 lb to 4 lb caught from Spring through Fall. Reports of smallmouth up to 7 pounds being caught are more than folk lore. Jerkbaits, crankbaits, and tube baits are all catching nice smallmouth. The fishing is often quite good on cold, windy, cloudy and rainy days. In Spring and Fall these bass populate relatively shallow water, as they do on summer mornings. Mid day, especially in Summer, they are being caught off ledges around 20' deep, that drop into deeper water.

Yellow Perch

Current Report: Good To Very Good
Outlook: Very Good To Excellent

Ice fishing is good this year for yellow perch in Elk Lake. Jigs tipped with nightcrawlers, wax worms and minnows all catch these schooling fish. They prefer to hans out in shallow water, less than 10', nd even shallower in Spring and Fall. In Summer they move to slightly deeper cover, especially during the midday hours. These yellow perch provide a steady food source for larger, predator fish, they are fun for anglers to catch, and they make tasty fish fry.

Lake Trout

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Lake trout prefer deep, cold water and or often caught around 200 feet deep or more at Elk Lake. In Spring, and again in Fall when lake trout spawn, they move into much shallower water. These big trout feed on small fish, so using lures that imitate baitfish, sunfish or small trout are good choices. Other choices include nightcrawlers or Berkeley Power Crawlers, fished on worm harnesses or drop-shot rigs. Flashy spoons can be fished at any depth, either jigging, trolling or cast and retrieve. For big lakers, use larger baits.

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for smallmouth bass, black crappie, walleye, rainbow trout, lake trout, bluegill, rock bass, yellow perch, muskie and northern pike at Elk Lake in Michigan.

Elk Lake is over 200 feet deep, about 9 miles long, has 7,700 surface acres, and offers 26 miles of shoreline to fish. Locals anglers and fishing guides report a very healthy population of lake trout. The lake also has plentiful populations of rainbow trout, brown trout, smallmouth bass, and panfish. There are sections of the lake available to anglers who enjoy fishing from the bank.

Primary fish species to catch

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Today's Weather & Forecast

Fishing Boat Rentals

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Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings

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Marinas

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Fishing License

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Map - Fishing & Access

Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".