From Native Brook Trout to Trophy Musky, the Waterways of Iron County, MI, Provide Excellent Sport Fishing

With 314 lakes and approximately 900 miles of rivers, Iron County, Michigan, provides almost limitless remote waterways with bountiful stocks of diverse species. Anglers enjoy fishing for walleye, northern pike, bass, musky, yellow perch, bluegill, sunfish, black crappie, bullhead, and brook trout in Iron County’s pristine waters.

Iron County has cold trout waters classified among Michigan’s Blue Ribbon Trout Streams. This 2010 designation indicates the best of Michigan’s trout streams that permit fly-casting but are shallow enough to wade. They produce diverse insect species and good fly hatches. In short, these trout streams deserve their glowing reputation. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources manages Blue Ribbon Trout Streams to maintain strong stocks of wild resident trout, enhance the trout habitat, and provide public access. Five Blue Ribbon Trout Streams call Iron County home: Brule River, Cooks Run, Fence River, Iron River, and Paint River (South Branch).

In addition to these Blue Ribbon Trout Streams, Iron County also has many lakes that contain a wide variety of fish. Here are 12 of the county’s popular lakes and the species you can find there:

• Cable Lake, Amasa: bluegill, crappie, northern pike, bass, and walleye
• Golden Lake, Beechwood: lake trout, pike, crappie, and bluegill
• Ice Lake, Iron River: smallmouth and largemouth bass, northern, perch, and crappie
• Indian Lake, Crystal Falls: bass, pike, bluegill
• Iron Lake, Beechwood: bluegill, walleye, pike, bass, crappie
• Lake Chicagon, Iron River and Crystal Falls: bass, lake trout, muskie, northern pike, and walleye
• Lake Emily, Crystal Falls: bass, muskie, walleye, crappie, pike, and bluegill
• Lake Michigamme, Crystal Falls: northern pike, crappie, bass, and walleye
• 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

For more information about obtaining a Michigan fishing license, visit the Michigan DNR website, www.michigan.gov.