What you need to know about fishing Muskegon Lake

Muskegon Lake is a 4,150-acre lake where the Muskegon river empties out into the eastern side of Lake Michigan. The lake has everything from deep water reaching 79 feet to an abundance of shallow vegetation in canals and back bays. With a great supply of boat ramps, parks and marinas, recreational boating and sport fishing are among the most popular activities. Although this lake receives a lot of pressure, the diversity and abundance of fish allows all types of anglers to have a successful day on the water. There is a healthy number of crappie, bluegill, perch, walleye, pike, and bass. Panfish are often caught around marinas or state parks in 3 – 6 ft of water. There are plenty of areas that can be reached from shore or boat. A lot are caught with a simple worm and bobber setup or a crappie jig tipped with a minnow. Perch are also a popular species and can found in deeper water on the edge of grass lines close to channel openings. Although the deepest depth is in the 70’s, a good portion is shallow where pike and bass can be caught. Back in the 1800’s there was a booming lumber industry and locating submerged piling and log jams will yield good numbers of walleye as well. Running shallow crankbaits and soft plastics that imitate forage should be used along the outside edge of the log piles and break walls leading into and out of Lake Michigan.