Muskrat Lake

[jacksonmj]

Ok I know I have asked alot of question but just trying to figure out bass fishing here in Michigan. Have to get ever minute of fishing in that I can before the weather sucks. Just wondering if any has fished this lake? I just noticed it on the map and see that you can launch a boat there, how big is the ramp? Also I live north of St Johns and want to fish as many lakes that are close to me as possible, if you have any suggestions as to where to fish let me know. Last question is I see that alot of tournaments are scheduled for the Grand River (NBAA) where do you launch to fish the river. Thanks again Mike.

[VinceR]

I have a friend that used to fish it quite a bit. From what I remember him telling me, there are some good fish in the lake. Other than that I don't know too much about it. I think that the ramp is dirt, though.

[djkimmel]

Last time I was there, the ramp on Muskrat was very marginal. Not for larger boats and you can get stuck on it. It's a small lake. This was quite some years ago though I have not heard anything about improvements to that ramp. I would check it out before heading there with the boat.

The lake is pretty shallow overall. I caught few bass in the main part, mostly small. Not a lot of good cover with any depth. There is a hidden 'secret' section that most of the good bass are caught from. I could not describe how to get into it after all these years. Very tricky.

When I was there, I knew where to go to get into it, but the water was low that year and I did not think I could make it so I did not try. Maybe with a canoe. Some anglers run into it, but that move always seems very risky to me considering the possibility of getting stuck or coming upon another angler. No room for maneuvering though Muskrat was not fished very heavy. I was told that larger boats can get in there some years and there are some anglers who will try no matter what.

Maybe I'll take a drive up there sometime this spring and see how the ramp and water levels look. There's no way I could get my bass boat in there based on what I remember. The main lake is not very attractive.

Round Lake is another one that has a couple spots in it. A spot that some launch boats at, but last time I was there it was horrible and even 4 wheelers got stuck sometimes. I rented a boat from the party store and rowed around all day. I believe they are still in business and renting boats cheap. Round Lake party store.

There are two ramps in Lansing on the Grand. One off Lansing Road between Old Lansing Rd and I-496 next to the boat club - Grand River Park. Very nice large deep ramp with lots of parking. They keep the big paddle wheel river boat there so the ramp was extended out farther at extra cost. You can launch 3 trailers at a time. The only time there's a problem with parking is when they have a big event on the river boat. 8 or 9 miles of river to fish. KNOW the channel or don't run it. It is very curvy and there are treacherous areas. Water is inches deep to 13 or 14 feet due to the dam.

There's also a decent ramp with a small amount of parking downtown practically underneath I-496 off of Cherry Street, basically the end of E St Joseph St at River St. About 3 miles to fish between the North Lansing dam and the one by the Board of Water and Light near MLK Blvd. The downtown stretch can be run a little, but it isn't that big and there are trash piles and ruins that can nail your motor. Nothing is marked. You can be in 10 feet one second and lose your lower unit the next. Just launch and start fishing until you learn were all the bad stuff is like the old bridge feet from bridges that were moved or taken out. Past Elm St the river is very shallow and rocky. Hard to even make it up there on the trolling motor only.

Both ramps are free.