Commerce Lake ramp Info needed

[Bigbass201]

I've fished a few lakes in the Oakland County area, and I was wondering if there's a public ramp on Commerce Lake.  The lake is just southwest of Cass Lake.

thanks in advance for replies.

[McCarter]

no public ramp on commerce. its a private lake. if you can get to know someone on the lake that would be your best bet. the ramp is locked and only residents get keys. sweet lake tho.

[Bigbass201]

Thanks.  I figured that might be the case. 

If you had to choose one of these lakes to fish in that area, which one of these would you go with.


Cass Lake
White Lake
Kent Lake
Williams Lake
Whitmore Lake
Orion Lake

Those are just a few I haven't been on before.  thanks

[Cheetam]

I would choose Kent over any of those, although I have never been on Williams or White.  Orion would be my second choice.  Kent has a good population of Smallmouth and Largemouth and Orion has some pig Largemouth.  Kent is a 10mph lake, which is nice and has pretty good launches.  Orion is a madhouse in the summer and has a pretty bad launch (imo).

[McCarter]

kent lake or white. kent would be my first choice.

[Bigbass201]

Thanks guys.  I'll probably hit one of those this weekend if the winds are too bad for Erie.

[dartag]

fished White lake last week for the first time.  caught lots of bass and little pike.  only a 3 hour tourny but we culled fish right until the finish. I will spend more time there next year.   there are some shallow islands so run easy.  there is a great bar ( white lake inn )   on the north east end if you get hungry or thirsty.  launch is off Duck Lake rd. 

[McCarter]

White is a phenomenal fishery.  But it gets a ton of pleasure boat traffic.  Alot of drinking and boating going on out there, too.  I dont even like fishing it in the summer time.  Early spring and fall are the safest times to be out there.  And there is some top notch smallmouth actions early spring with jerkbaits.  But once they are done spawning, they all pack up and move to kent lake or something, cuz you dont see them again til fall and nothing like you did in the spring. 

McCarter himself

[Bigbass201]

Good stuff guys. 

I've already fished Sylvan Lake, Union, Orchard, Pontiac, & Oxbow in that area.  Pontiac and Oxbow were ice fishing.  Sylvan and Union both got thumbs up for bass action.  Although I caught one over 5 lbs. on Orchard, it didn't strike me as that good of a fishery. 

[McCarter]

I have only been on orchard once.  I liked the layout of the lake but we only caught one real good fish that day.  I would like to get back out there again.  we got on a good topwater bite in 40+ feet of water.

Here are some other really good lakes to check out in oakland county:

Wolverine Lake in Wixom.  This time of year, the boat traffic should be down.  There is some really good largemouth fishing in there.  Lots of boat docks, canals, lily pads, good points, humps, and drops.  Only been out there a few times (which is wierd because i live in Wixom ) but caught them pretty good both deep and shallow.

Tipsico Lake in Hartland.  This is a really good largemouth lake.  A lot of patterns hold up out here also.  Its a really good spinnerbait lake.  Jigs and tubes work great, too.  Soft stick baits like a Yamamoto Senko or my favorite, the Nemesis 5" Stick are really deadly on Tipsico.  My favorite way to fish it is to flip to docks and rafts. 

Lower Pettibone in Highland.  This is the first lake i fished when i bought my first boat.  It is literally less than 2 miles from my parents house in Highland so i would hit it often.  It can be finicky at times, but will make up for it at others.  There are a ton of really big largies out there and some giant pike and dog fish.  Its a deep lake with a lot of humps and sunken islands.  The weed lines are great, too.  The real hot spots for me are the shallower flats (10-12 feet deep ) between the humps.  It is also a really good dock lake if you find the right docks.  And topwaters and crankbaits will get you numbers out here.  Its also one of the best spring jerkbait lakes for largemouth that i have ever fished.  They really like the Strike King Wild Shiner out there over anything else.  I dont know why, but i have more luck on those than Lucky Crafts, Rogues, X Raps and Bombers.

Woodland lake in Brighton.  This lake is up there with my top 3 favorites right now.  I fished it for the first time this year and must say it really fishes to my strengths so i was instantly in love.  Jigs, Jigs, and more Jigs.  Drop shots were on fire for a while mid summer.  We were hitting them in 12-15 feet of water on our 3" gobys.  Docks and pads have been good to me out there as well.  I hear there is a good crankbait bite out there but i havent tapped into that yet.

Proud Lake in Commerce.  This one is just down stream from Commerce Lake and has a really good 2 lb average size largemouth population with some really big ones mixed in.  And, if you time it right, you can really smack some brown and rainbow trout.  There is some good lily pad areas and Zoom Horny Toads will pull out bass after bass in the summer time out here.  Jigs and plastics on the shallow weed flats will produce consistant action as well.  I have only been out here a couple times but it is a fun lake to fish and the fish seem willing to cooperate most of the time according to a friend of mine who fishes the lake often.

Portage Chain in Pickney.  Oh boy, this Chain calls to me often although i have not been down there in 2 years.  You have your choice of 3 ( or is it 4 ) lakes to choose from and they all have fish from what i hear.  I have only fished in Portage and had really good success fishing both shallow and deep.  Crankbaits were the main deal for us on our best day out there.  White Lurh Jensen Radar 10s put both good sized largrmouth and smallmouth in the boat.  Tubes were also high producers for a handful of 3+ lb smallies out in the middle of the lake.  Shallow in the canals we used flukes, frogs, and jigs on boat docks to pull in a couple really nice largies.  I hear rumors of 6 lb smallmouth being a common occurance in local tournaments on this chain and bags exceeding 18lbs to win the events.  I definatly need to spend more time down there being that it is a short 25 minute drive from Wixom.

Pontiac Lake in Waterford.  Rumor has it that the lake is making a great comeback from a large winter kill that supposably took place years back.  I remember fishing very high turnout spring opener tournaments on Pontiac where second place was 1 fish for just under 4 lbs.  This in a 30 boat field.  But lately the talk has been of good limits coming to most of the feild.  Its a nice lake with lots of different types of structure and cover.  I havent been out there in a few years but we used to do well with mini carolina rigs ( or a mojo rig ) finesse worms and Yamamoto hula grubs.  Spinnerbaits worked for us on occasion as well. 

I am assuming you already know about these lake but i am stuck at work and bored out of mind so i thought i would share my opinion on a few good lakes in the area. 

If it was up to me tho, i would only fish kent lake.  everyday.  period.  of course, the fishing is good right now out there.  talk to me when i have a bad day out there and I will swear that i hate the lake and im not fishing out there anymore.

Good luck and post pictures when you catch them

McCarter himself

[kennsandy]

i have the pleasure of hitting alot of really good lakes this year in the oakland /genesee county area.  in no perticular order some lakes i have hit 3+ on this year - white lake, lake orion, lake ponehma, lobdell, woodland(1st time ever at lake), big seven(holly), lake oakland, and my personal favorite this year - maceday.  maceday is an interesting find.  the first time i first it a couple years ago i swore i would never go there again, lol.  this year, we went there once in july, and i landed 22" 3+ largemouth and 21" 5+ smallie, both on senkos and it changed my mind about this lake in a hurry, lol.  these are some quality lakes, but like everyplace, you just have to find them, and hope they are interested in what you are serving for breakfast.

best of luck, hope to see you all on the lake soon,

ken

[Bigbass201]

Thanks Ken and McCarter.  The one of those lakes that I've fished was the Portage Chain.  It's one of my buddies favorites.  I thought it was nice, but not exceptional. 

You guys have given me a nice list to go off of.  I literally just got a pen and paper out to jot them down.  It looks as though the winds are going to lay down for me tomorrow.  So I will be hitting Erie in the morning instead.  It's almost on my doorstep here in Maumee Ohio.  It just doesn't always cooperate with the winds, which leads me inland.

I would venture to say that Pontiac lake is back.  I fished it two winters ago, and couldn't believe the amount of bass and Pike I was catching.  The bass were decent and healthy looking.  Lots of little gills that the bass must be feeding on, and some decent crappie.
I did some searching, and was able to find that report on my old message board.  I was surprised it was still there.  Here's the link to some of those photos from Pontiac Lake.
http://fishtalkandfishingreports.yuku.com/topic/1426

Currently I'm trying to make lake listings and fish photos from each lake.  Looks like I need to add some of those lakes you mentioned to my pages.  It might be worth looking at.  It's possible you've fished a few of them.
http://bigbass101.startlogic.com//BigbassLakes/BigBassLakes.html

I'm not sure if you guys fish west of you much near Coldwater Michigan.  If you do, you might be interested in a small tournament I throw every Fall.  It's right off of Route 12 in Coldwater.  Small entry fee of $5.  100% payback, plus tons of food and drinks afterward.  Here's the details on that if your interested.
http://fishtalkfishingreports.yuku.com/topic/2708

I will definitely posts some pictures here on those lakes you mentioned when I fish them.  Thanks a ton for all the help.

Fished the Detroit River a couple weeks ago, and was lucky enough to land this fish below on 8 lb. test.

[Bigbass201]

Well I hit Kent 2 weekends ago and loved the layout of the lake.  I didn't wet a line too much that day.  Took my wife along for the boat ride, and it was a bit chilly for her.  Right now they have the lake closed at the 96 bridge, so that's the only portion of that lake that I didn't see.  All in all it was just a scouting trip, and I liked what I saw despite the slow bite.  Below is one I had my wife hold before releasing.




This past weekend, I dipped in Woodland Lake.  Nice little lake, and not too far of a jog for me.  Conditions were a pain with the wind, and rain/hail moving in and out in the morning.  Ended up catching some bass on spinnerbait, blades, jerkbaits, and crankbaits.  Crankbaits had the best action.  Lost one over 4 lbs. on my 3rd cast of the morning, and never did get another that big.  However, there were plenty of quality fish.



Thanks for the list of lakes guys.  I will be checking the rest of them out in the near future.