Bill Parker

A rustic ambiance and good populations of panfish make Alcona County’s Jewell Lake a gem for anglers.
It’s a good lake to take kids fishing because the panfish populations are robust with good numbers of bluegills, pumpkinseed sunfish, and rock bass. In an effort to bolster minimal yellow perch and black crappie numbers the local lake association has stocked both species in the lake during the last nine years.

With a diverse warmwater fishery that includes good numbers and sizes of largemouth bass, panfish, and northern pike, Bennett Lake is typical of most inland lakes in southern Michigan.
As part of a small chain of lakes it receives a fair share of recreational angling pressure, particularly from bass anglers. Between Bennett and Lobdell lakes, which are connected, there are no fewer than 35 bass fishing tournaments scheduled for 2024.

Most walleye stocking events on Michigan inland lakes consists of planting spring fingerlings. Many of these tiny fish, which usually average between 1 and 2 inches in length, often are gobbled up by predators in the lake.
To compensate for this loss, a very high number of spring fingerlings are planted with hopes that a fair percentage of them will survive long enough to be recruited into the fishery.
Osceola County’s Rose Lake is an exception to this effort.