-
Outdoors
LANSING—Take advantage of the free weekend events on June 8-9. Catch some fish. Visit a state park. Ride the state ORV trails.
Two days twice a year, winter and summer, families and friends can enjoy one of Michigan’s premiere outdoor activities, Michigan fishing, for free.
All fishing license fees are waived for two days. A Recreation Passport will not be required for entry into state parks and boating access sites during Free Fishing Weekend. Residents and out-of-state visitors may enjoy fishing on both inland and Great Lakes’ waters for all species of fish. All fishing regulations will still apply.
Fishing is one of the top family fun activities in Iron County, and its lakes and streams provide excellent sport fishing. Whether you prefer fishing from shore, in a boat on a lake, or donning hip-boots or waders for stream-fishing, Iron County’s got a place for you.
Michigan offers some of the finest freshwater fishing in the world, with more than 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, more than 11,000 inland lakes and tens of thousands of miles of rivers and streams.
Featured Iron County lakes for Upper Michigan Fishing are:
• Lake Michigamme: Crystal Falls – northern pike, crappie, bass and walleye.
• Chicaugon Lake: Iron River and Crystal Falls – bass, lake trout, muskie, northern pike and walleye.
• Cable Lake: Amasa – bluegill, crappie, northern pike, bass and walleye.
• Lake Emily: Crystal Falls – bass, muskie, walleye, crappie, pike and bluegill.
• Golden Lake: Beechwood – lake trout, pike, crappie and bluegill.
• Indian Lake: Crystal Falls – bass, pike and bluegill.
• Ice Lake: Iron River – small mouth, large mouth, northern, perch and crappie
• Iron Lake: Iron River – bluegill, walleye, pike, bass and crappie
• Lake Ottawa: Iron River – pike, bluegill, walleye, crappie and trout
• Paint Lake: Kenton – crappie, pike, bass and muskie
• Peavy Reservoir: Crystal Falls – walleye, pike, bluegill, crappie and bass
• Porter Lake: Amasa – bluegill, bass, pike and walleye
A list of Iron County lakes with maps are available through the Michigan DNR website.
To view a table of Iron County lakes go to the Iron County Economic Chamber Alliance webpage at www.iron.org.
There are five Blue Ribbon Trout Streams in Iron County – the Brule River, Cooks Run, Fence River, Iron River and Paint River. To be classified as a Blue Ribbon Trout Stream the waterway must:
- be able to support excellent stocks of wild resident trout
- have the physical characteristics to permit fly casting but shallow enough to wade
- produce diverse insect life and good fly hatches
- have earned a good reputation for excellent trout fishing experience
- have excellent water quality
Iron County is home of five of Michigan’s best.
For information on Michigan fishing license visit the Michigan.gov DNR website. You can also pick up a license in most gas stations in the area.
In addition to Free Fishing Weekend, on June 8-9, residents and nonresidents legally can ride without buying an ORV license or trail permit during the Michigan Free ORV Weekend. All other ORV rules and laws still apply. Test out 4,000 miles of Michigan’s off-road trails and the state’s five scramble areas (or introduce friends to the trail system) during two weekends this summer. The second free ORV weekend will be Aug. 17-18. For more information about Michigan Free ORV Weekends, visit Michigan.gov/ORVInfo.