Beta

GuidedFloats is in beta. The full site launches March 1, 2027. The mobile app follows.

Guides: claim before March 1, 2027 and your first full season of Premium is free. Claim your founding spot →

Log in List your guide serviceFor guides
Home › Waters › Michigan › Higgins Lake
Lake · Northern Lower Michigan · Michigan

Higgins Lake Fishing Guides

One of the clearest and deepest lakes in Michigan, minutes from shallow Houghton but nothing like it, with a genuine lake trout fishery in water you can see forty feet down.

Pines along a rocky shoreline on a calm northern lake
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Higgins Lake

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

No guides listed yet

Guide or outfit this water? Create your profile. Listing is free, the commission is 10% or 7% with a premium profile, and premium profiles list first on this water.

About the Higgins Lake

Higgins Lake sits a few miles from Houghton Lake and could hardly be more different. Where Houghton is shallow, weedy and stained, Higgins is deep, cold and startlingly clear, with a hard sand and gravel bottom and water that is regularly held up as among the most beautiful in the state.

That clarity and depth support a coldwater fishery. Lake trout are the signature species, caught deep through summer and closer to the surface after ice-out and again late in the year. Rainbow and brown trout are present, and smallmouth bass on the gravel and the drop-offs are excellent and comparatively overlooked.

Yellow perch and rock bass fill out the list and provide the everyday fishing. The perch fishing through the ice is a long-standing local tradition.

Fishing clear deep water asks for a different approach than most Michigan inland lakes. Light line, small presentations and attention to depth matter far more than casting to cover, and on bright calm summer days the fish will be deeper than seems reasonable. Early morning and late evening are worth more here than almost anywhere.

The lake is ringed by state parks and cottages and gets heavy recreational use in summer, which is another argument for fishing at the edges of the day.

Higgins and Houghton together make an unusually good pairing for a few days away. They are ten minutes apart and demand opposite approaches: shallow weed fishing on one, deep clear-water fishing on the other. Anglers who bring tackle for both get far more out of a trip than those who commit to one.

The gauge below reports lake elevation. Higgins is a natural lake with no dam setting its level, so what the reading shows is the slow seasonal response to snowmelt, rain and groundwater rather than anything an operator decided.

This water needs a real photo

The photo at the top of this page is not Higgins Lake.

It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.

Add a photo of this water See the badges

Pioneer badgeUnclaimed

Add a photo of this water

Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.

Never published. It is how the badge is held for you until member accounts open.

Posting to Higgins Lake.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. Landscape orientation looks best at the top of the page. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name printed under the photo and on your badge. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Pool right now

1,153.64ft NAVD88
  • 24 hours-0.01 ft → steady

Reading taken 1h ago at USGS 442805084411001, HIGGINS LAKE NEAR ROSCOMMON, MI. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.

Fished this water? Add a photo

Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.

Never published. We use it only if we need to ask about the photo.

Posting to Higgins Lake.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Lake level alert

Tell me when the pool at Higgins Lake ft (NAVD88)

Now: 1,153.64 ft pool elevation, read 6:00 am CST, Mon Nov 2, 2026 (USGS 442805084411001, HIGGINS LAKE NEAR ROSCOMMON, MI).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

North Higgins Lake State Park: ramp, camping and bank access.
South Higgins Lake State Park: the main developed access with a large campground.
Public access sites on the east and west shores.
Sand and gravel shorelines make wading and shore casting practical in places.
Ice access in winter from the state parks and public sites.
Roscommon and Grayling are the nearest towns with services.
Note: very clear water. Fish early, fish light, and expect fish deep.

Seasons

Winter: perch and lake trout through the ice, a long-standing local season.
Spring: lake trout near the surface after ice-out and smallmouth moving shallow.
Summer: deep lake trout, smallmouth on the drop-offs, heavy recreational traffic.
Fall: cooling water brings trout up and the lake quietens considerably.

From the water

No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.

Log this water

Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.

Questions

What species can you catch on the Higgins Lake?

Anglers target Brown Trout, Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch on the Higgins Lake in Michigan.

Where can you access the Higgins Lake?

North Higgins Lake State Park: ramp, camping and bank access. South Higgins Lake State Park: the main developed access with a large campground. Public access sites on the east and west shores. Sand and gravel shorelines make wading and shore casting practical in places. Ice access in winter from the state parks and public sites. Roscommon and Grayling are the nearest towns with services. Note: very clear water. Fish early, fish light, and expect fish deep.

When is the best time to fish the Higgins Lake?

Winter: perch and lake trout through the ice, a long-standing local season. Spring: lake trout near the surface after ice-out and smallmouth moving shallow. Summer: deep lake trout, smallmouth on the drop-offs, heavy recreational traffic. Fall: cooling water brings trout up and the lake quietens considerably.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Higgins Lake?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Michigan agency site: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/fishing/fishing-regulations