Muskegon Lake Ice fishing Access Map
Muskegon Lake is one of my favorite wintertime ice fishing spots. It is one of those places where you can fish for a bunch of different species in one day, sometimes even in the same spot.. The biggest draw for me is chasing the schools of Lake Michigan perch that come in to feed in the winter (here are some of the key differences between resident and Lake Michigan Perch). They roam the deep basins and offer the firmest and best perch fillets I have ever encountered. There are also plenty of resident perch and panfish to be had if that is your game. Or if large predators are your game, there are plenty of northern pike and walleyes if you want to work for them. One of the coolest things about Muskegon Lake is that you never know when something odd will bite. Cisco, brown trout, steelhead, and sturgeon are caught every year. Coho salmon and smelt are other surprises I’ve seen that have come in from Lake Michigan, you just never know!
All that being said, Muskegon Lake can be a real beast. It seems the wind always blows which can make mobility difficult. That same wind also drifts snow up in places and leaves others bare ice. The travel conditions often vary from day to do. It also doesn’t always give up the goods really easy either but if you are willing to work hard the rewards can be great. The catches can be impressive, but I will caution you that sitting in the middle of one of the shanty towns won’t produce those results on most days.
There are a few other tricky situations that are unique to Muskegon Lake. Methane gas pockets from decaying sawmill lumber are something that everyone needs to know about. Familiarize yourself with some of the areas that might have those. 2nd street and the south side of Muskegon lake are some of the biggest spots for decaying wood. It often holds fish too but you will have to proceed with caution. The methane pockets can leave large hollow spots in the ice in these areas. You can hear the difference in the sound of a spud hit and it can be amazing how weak that ice can be. The other one is tug, barge, and freighter traffic. This usually starts on early ice but can persist all winter. The problem areas are the shipping lane from the channel to the Milwaukee Clipper and then from the Clipper all the way to the Mart Dock or Fisherman’s Landing. Often times the tug operator takes the time to just travel in one path, minimizing the effect to ice fisherman. But I have seen winters where they will make multiple paths and make chunks of the lake unfishable. As a fisherman with a machine this is really frustrating because I like to travel around out there but I also understand that sometimes a boat has to come in. If we have a cold winter the tug crack will often be passable in a few weeks. But always use caution if there has been big winds or lots of snow. Ice shoves and snow drifts out there can insulate for long periods of time. Lastly you will have to watch for bubblers around some of the marinas and there will be pressure cracks in some areas of the lake. They are usually passable but people have put machines in them before.
To navigate the map, you can zoom in on each P symbol for a parking area and make your plans from there. One thing to note is that all the City of Muskegon launches have a $10 daily use fee (spots 3-7). Lastly a reminder to clean up your trash, if you take it out there, take it home with you!
1. Snug Harbor - Muskegon State Park
This is one of the earliest accesses to freeze on Muskegon Lake since it is protected from all the big NW blows we get. It is a really popular spot especially early on in the season and is well known. Parking and traffic can be very busy here. The main species pursued here are panfish and perch. You will often have to sort through A LOT of dink perch here to get some keepers but it would be a hard place to go and not catch anything. I have seen some really nice bluegills in sunfish here and the fishing is usually variable year to year. You’ll also see a lot of tip ups for pike set out. Don’t expect a hot pike bite but some are caught every year. Some years this can be the best access to get to the Bear Lake Channel area for perch due to the tug crack.
2. 2nd Street - North Muskegon Waterfront Spots Park
This access is well known as the pike and walleye area. It also is where most of the sturgeon that are incidentally caught in Muskegon Lake come from. All these species are pushing towards the river and with plenty of structure in this area of the lake it just holds them. It won’t give up the goods easily though so be prepared to work hard and make the most out of bite windows. There also is a resident perch bite in this area of the lake so it can be a good way to pass the time between predator feeding windows.
3. Fisherman’s Landing
Truthfully I don’t know much about the fishing down here. But I know there are ample opportunities for panfish in this area of the lake. It isn’t far from the river mouth either and there are ample weedbeds for pike close by. This is one of the least talked about areas of the lake, so maybe I am missing something.
4. Hartshorn Marina
This is a popular area for tip up watching from a vehicle and I know there are good catches that come from anglers willing to venture out for both perch and resident perch. The are that is the “Red Buoy” just off Adelaide Point can be a popular area. You can also venture out into the main basin of the lake and in some years it will hold big numbers of Lake Michigan perch. There is a lot to explore out there and not a lot of pressure.
5. Grand Trunk Access
In my opinion this is one of the best machine accesses in the lake. Totally dependent on if you can cross the tug crack though. If not, I will launch elsewhere. There are panfish and perch close by the ramp and deep water not far out. You can also walk onto the ice west of the Clipper by the pavilion here. It does not get a lot of attention for predator species but there are bound to be a few swimming around the south side.
6. Cottage Grove Access
The target down on this end of the lake turns mostly to Lake Michigan perch in the deep basins. However there is lots of structure shallower and resident perch/panfish opportunities too. There is a lot of decaying wood both around the marinas and the old papermill site as well as a bubbler at the condo marina mouth. As ice deteriorates that marina mouth will go quickly. This is also a popular ice boater access and they often do a good job of blocking the ramp for everyone else. Just something to think about when using this access and also a reminder to think of others when parking vehicles and trailers during the season.
7. Sand Docks
The old pilings to the south east are the old sand docks from they mined a giant dune of sand. This is the most popular perch access on the lake although not always the most productive. This is a likely place for an encounter with one of those surprise species I mentioned earlier. It will take some work to do well at this end of the lake. There is a lot of deep water and those tasty perch could be anywhere.