Mullett Lake Fishing Guides and Conditions, Michigan

About the Mullett Lake

Mullett Lake is one of the larger and deeper lakes in the Lower Peninsula, sitting in the chain of waters known as the Inland Waterway that runs from Crooked Lake through to Cheboygan and Lake Huron. Boats can travel most of that route, which makes Mullett part of a system rather than an isolated lake.

Smallmouth bass are the standout fishery. The lake has extensive rock, gravel and drop-off habitat, the water is clear, and the fish grow large. Walleye are the other main target, fished on the bars and over the deeper flats. Northern pike and muskellunge hold in the weedy bays and around the river mouths.

Mullett also holds lake sturgeon, a remnant population of a species that was once widespread through the Great Lakes basin and is now carefully protected. They are a fish to know about and admire rather than to target, and the rules around them are strict.

Yellow perch and lake trout round out the list, and the connection to the Cheboygan River and Lake Huron means migratory fish move through parts of the system seasonally.

The Inland Waterway connection is worth planning around. A boat launched on Mullett can reach Burt Lake and, with the locks, run most of the way to Lake Huron, which turns a day on one lake into a route through several. It also means the system carries more recreational traffic in July than the fishing appreciates.

The gauge below reports lake elevation, taken at the outlet. Because Mullett is part of a connected waterway, the level responds to the whole system and to Lake Huron beyond it, and reading it as a trend is more useful than reading any single value.

Access

Public access sites at Aloha State Park on the east shore.
Indian River and Topinabee: ramps and services on the waterway.
Cheboygan River outlet: the connection toward Lake Huron.
Mullett Lake Village: additional public access.
Rock bars and drop-offs are the main smallmouth structure.
The Inland Waterway allows boat travel between connected lakes.
Note: lake sturgeon are present and protected. Know the rules before fishing.

Seasons

Winter: perch and pike through the ice, with walleye in the deeper basins.
Spring: smallmouth moving shallow after ice-out and walleye on the bars.
Summer: excellent smallmouth on the rock, deep walleye, busy waterway traffic.
Fall: cooling water and the best smallmouth and walleye of the year.