Fishing Crooked Lake

Crooked Lake offers exceptional panfishing with both bluegill and redear sunfish reaching trophy sizes, making it one of only 50 Michigan lakes with a self-sustaining redear population. Bluegill averaged 7.0 inches in trap nets with 85% over 6 inches and a Schneider's Index rating of 4.8 (Good), while redear sunfish averaged 7.8 inches with 95% over 6 inches and 15 fish exceeding 9 inches. Master angler redear over 10 inches are caught annually. Both species grow slightly below state average (growth indices of -0.7 and -1.1 respectively), likely due to limited larger zooplankton in this natural lake system. Largemouth bass are extremely abundant but suffer from poor growth, averaging only 9.4 inches with just 2 fish over the 14-inch legal limit despite representing all age classes 1-10 years. Their stunted population effectively controls panfish numbers, maintaining the excellent bluegill and redear fishery. Northern pike are present in low numbers but reach good sizes, with 3 of 4 fish over 24 inches including one 36-incher. The clear water lake features excellent dissolved oxygen throughout the water column (7-9 ppm surface to bottom), 13-foot secchi depth, and extensive submergent vegetation beds scattered through the littoral zone. Marl and gravel substrates in shallow areas provide vegetation-free zones. The 113-acre lake has two basins - the northern basin reaching 20 feet deep with 75% of the lake area, while the southern basin stays mostly under 5 feet. Bullheads average over 10 inches and provide underutilized table fare, while bowfin up to 29 inches help maintain fish community balance.