Access: The state-owned public access is located south of M-32 on Jack’s Landing Road, then south on Fishing Site Road on the lake’s northern shoreline.

Information: Contact the MDNR’s Central Lake Michigan Management Unit at (231) 775-9727, Jack’s Landing at (517) 742-4370, or the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce at (231) 723-2575.

COLDWATER CHAIN
The Coldwater Chain of lakes in Branch County are heavily fished but not for the northern pike, according to MDNR fisheries biologist Kraegg Smith, and that’s surprising, he said.

“Northern pike in the 36- to 37-inch range aren’t common, but there are fish like that in the chain,” Smith said.

Most of the bigger fish are taken by ice-anglers in the larger lakes. The smaller bodies of water are shallower and weedier and provide excellent spring spawning habitat, but once the spawning is over, the bigger fish will move out into the deeper, cooler Marble and Coldwater lakes.

According to Smith, the numbers are thin compared with other species, and that allows individual pike to reach some mammoth proportions. Most of the pike range from 26 to 28 inches, which on L.P. lakes is a nice-sized fish, but they get much bigger here.

Carl Gillette of Heinamin’s Bait Shop has seen pike of all sizes, including one fish in early spring 2006 that reached 41 inches. That monster was taken on an 8-inch chub.

Another long-time local angler who has caught his share of northern pike on the Coldwater Chain is Bernie Behnke.

“I believe my biggest one was a 39-incher,” he said. The chain includes several smaller lakes, including East Long, Wright, Bartholomew, Archer and Middle. The two largest lakes -- Marble and Coldwater -- draw the most attention. Marble Lake is at the northern reach of the chain and covers 780 acres, with depths plummeting to 60 feet. Coldwater Lake is the largest on the chain at 1,610 acres and drops even deeper, to more than 90 feet.

Access: Public access to the chain includes a boat ramp on Marble Lake off Englewood Drive, west of Ray-Quincy Road, and on the south side of the channel that connects Middle and Marble lakes off Bennett Road. On Coldwater Lake, access is on the west side of the lake on Waxon Road.

Information: Contact the MDNR’s Lake Michigan Management Unit at (616) 685-6851, or Heinamin’s Bait Shop at (517) 278-9026. Tourism information is available from the Branch County Tourism Bureau at (800) 968-9333.

GRAND RIVER
The Grand River is one of the L.P.’s most overlooked pike destinations and it holds some of the largest pike in the state. Its wide, slow-moving sloughs and bayous are more like lakes than riverine habitat and are loaded with pike fare, such as suckers, panfish and seasonal migrations of alewives and other pike delicacies.

Northern pike can move in and out of the river system at will, escaping the summer heat by sinking into the cold water of Lake Michigan and then heading upstream to spawn in the early spring. The backwaters contain lush weedbeds with bordering stumps, wetlands, lily pads and deep holes -- all perfect pike habitat. As the bigger pike find fall temperatures more to their liking, they’ll move up into the river from Lake Michigan to feed heavily.

Though not common, northerns in the 15- to 20-pound range have been taken. Most pike will be smaller and the population isn’t dense, but this is one of the L.P.’s best bets for a trophy-class fish.

The main-river channel may or may not freeze up, but backwater sections like the Bruce’s, Lloyd’s and Stearns bayous probably will. However, ice conditions can be treacherous and anglers throwing caution to the wind may lose more they’ve bargained for. Spring Lake is a major pike-fishing spot that can produce well, as is Pottawattomie Bayou, according to Gary Stillson of Lakeview Marine and Tackle.

Ice conditions -- and the pike angling -- can be best at Spring Lake bayou, which is connected to the river but lacks the current.

Access: Find walk-on access to Pottawattomie Bayou when the ice is right at the eastern entrance to the Indian Channel. From Route 104, take 138th Avenue south for nearly four miles to the concrete ramp.