Bear Lake

Hillsdale County's Bear Lake — distinct from Manistee's village lake and Michigan's several other Bears — is a deep glacial kettle in the state's quiet southern hill country, the kind of water that rewards the drive with clarity and depth the flatland lakes can't offer. The launch pages' steady search traffic says anglers keep finding it, and the fishery explains why: bass on the sharp drops, panfish over the deep weededges, and the deep-kettle bonus of water that stays cool and oxygenated all summer.

The setting is the south's best-kept secret — the moraine country between the Irish Hills and the Indiana line, all hills, hardwoods, and spring-fed lakes, an hour from everywhere and better for it.