If you live in Michigan, you're not far from water. Everyone has a pond, lake or river close to home where they can sneak away to wet a line after work, after school or on their day off. But it's fun to plan a fishing getaway or a road trip to a more remote fishing destination, maybe for species that aren't available locally or close to home. Following are six super destinations you'll want to put on your family's road-trip itinerary for this summer. You'll have a blast!

RICE LAKE
Ontario's Rice Lake, about four hours or so northeast of Detroit, has been called "Bluegill Heaven." That alone warrants a family road trip to investigate. Having been to Rice Lake more than a half-dozen times, I'd have to admit it is one of the few places where the fishing is every bit as good as claimed. And the half-day drive for most Michigan families is more than worth the time.

Rice Lake is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway. More than 23 miles long and three miles wide, it's actually a river system. The level is governed by a series of locks, thus the body of water takes on the characteristics of a shallow, fertile lake with a steady flow of nutrients running though it. The lake is surrounded by rolling hills and resorts that cater to vacationing families.

Rice Lake is full of big bluegills, sunfish, crappies and perch, and predators like walleyes, muskies and bass. The high level of predators keeps the panfish from becoming stunted. In addition, the panfish are targeted by thousands of visiting anglers who keep their numbers in check. There's no limit on panfish -- except how much time you want to spend cleaning fish. However, there's plenty of forage for the resident panfish. Rice Lake has few locations that are over 20 feet deep, and the expansive weedbeds harbor a plethora of food. A key strategy is to locate hard-bottomed areas within or next to the weeds where the panfish spawn.

Rice Lake is a fantastic place to take the kids fishing. But unless they're trained to take their own fish off the hook, don't plan on doing much fishing yourself. Catching panfish at Rice Lake is as simple as dropping a line over the side of the boat! You can use live bait, but a better alternative is plastic or scented lures like Berkley Gulp. Fly-fishing for panfish is a blast. Rubber spiders, poppers and nymphs are killers. Anglers take some of the biggest crappies on Beetle Spins and tiny crankbaits. If you get bored catching panfish, you can drag a bottom-bouncer with a crawler harness and catch some dandy walleyes up to 10 pounds. Largemouth and smallmouth bass often surprise anglers who are rigged for panfish. The bass season opens the last Saturday in June, and fish topping 6 pounds are common.