Crooked Lake, is considered the starting or ending point for the Inland Waterway in Northern Michigan. Technically, Round Lake is the head of the Inland Waterway, but the creek that connects these waters is no longer navigable. Crooked Lake covers around 2,300 surface acres and it is around 50 feet deep at its deepest point. Most of this lake is much shallower though and there is a lot of vegetation in the lake.
Fish the West End of the Lake
The west end of the lake has a much larger area to fish than you will find on the east end. You will find some nice drop-offs, a very deep hole in the middle of this part of the lake and lots of weeds that are home to walleye, perch, northern pike and bass.
Fish the East End of the Lake
The east end of the lake has a lot of shallow water, however, there is a nice hole with some deeper water on this side of the lake that will hold walleye, perch, bass, pike and sunfish. You will also find plenty of anglers target the deeper weeds on the east side of Oden Island, which is usually good for panfish, bass, pike and some occasional walleye.
Fish the Drop-offs
This lake has a lot of shallow water, but there are plenty of nice drop-offs that are great spots to fish for just about everything that swims in this lake. Fish the drop-offs and you’ll catch something.
Fish the Deep Hole
The deep hole drops down to around 50 feet of water. There will be a lot of fish that will suspend 15 to 25 feet down over deeper water out here in the summer months. They won’t always be easy to catch, but you should be able to find some schools of fish out in this deeper part of the lake if you move around and use your electronics.
Fish the Deep Weed Edges
The deeper weed edges are great spots to fish. You’ll find plenty of pike, bass, walleye and panfish on these weed edges in the summer and early fall months.
Navigate to Pickerel Lake
There is a channel that connects Crooked Lake to Pickerel Lake. It is large enough for boats to travel through here easily.
Navigate to Burt Lake
At the north end of the lake, you’ll enter the Crooked River through a locks system. Once you get through the locks, you’ll arrive at the town of Alanson, MI. This is where you will have to pass through the world’s shortest swing bridge, which is pretty cool. Once you continue on, you pass through a small, shallow lake called Hay Lake then continue on the Crooked River, which takes you to Burt Lake.
