Manistee Area Inland Lakes: Manistee, Portage, Bear and Arcadia

The inland lakes around Manistee are the other half of a trip here. When Lake Michigan is rough, or when the kids are done with long boat rides, a lake with perch, bass and pike is a short drive away. Two of them, Manistee Lake and Portage Lake, connect to Lake Michigan, so a small boat can do both.

Manistee Lake

Manistee Lake sits right behind the harbor. The Manistee River flows through it, the Little Manistee enters near Stronach, and the channel past downtown links it to Lake Michigan. The city marina on that channel describes easy access to both Lake Michigan and Manistee Lake, and the channel is dredged to 20 feet with no bridges.

What you catch. In late summer and fall, DNR reports describe boats jigging and trolling Chinook in the lake and the channel before the fish push up the river. The same reports mention pike and smallmouth. Late-fall reports describe steelhead caught trolling spoons, and early-spring reports describe perch on minnows, with the odd pike, steelhead and brown trout.

Rules to know. Lake sturgeon live in Manistee Lake and the Manistee River and are sometimes hooked by accident. Special sturgeon rules apply, so read the Michigan Fishing Regulations.

Family fit. It is a working harbor lake, best for anglers with a boat. Kids do better on the piers or at Portage or Bear Lake.

Portage Lake (Onekama)

Portage Lake covers about 2,116 acres with roughly 10 miles of shoreline at the village of Onekama. A channel opened in 1871 connects it to Lake Michigan, and the channel itself is used for fishing, boating and swimming. Public access includes a DNR boat launch at North Point and township road ends. Captain John Langland Park is the township’s main Lake Michigan beach.

What you catch. A DNR creel survey from April through October found yellow perch the most-kept fish by far, with bluegill and rock bass also common. Largemouth bass were the most-caught fish, but nearly all were released. Pike, smallmouth and pumpkinseed rounded it out. The DNR has stocked walleye in Portage Lake in many years, most recently in 2025 and 2026. In June, a heavy mayfly hatch can make bass and panfish hard to catch.

The Lake Michigan link. The channel gives you Lake Michigan from a calmer base. DNR reports describe coho caught trolling the channel and just off the lighthouse in fall, and Onekama boats trolling for Chinook offshore.

Family fit. Very good. Perch and bluegill suit simple tackle, and you can split the day between the lake and the Lake Michigan beach.

Bear Lake

Bear Lake sits at the village of Bear Lake, inland from the coast on US-31. The DNR has stocked walleye here regularly for decades, most recently in 2025 and 2026, which makes it the walleye option on this list. We did not find a recent public DNR fish survey for the lake, so ask locally what is biting before you go.

The village’s Hopkins Park is the easy base. It has 31 campsites on the lake, a dock and boat launch, a fishing pier and a swim area with no lifeguard. Reservations run from late April to late October, and July and holiday weekends book up, with a three-night minimum preferred. The village also points out an 11.5-mile bike loop around the lake.

Family fit. Good for a simple camp-and-fish trip: launch, pier and swim area in one place.

Arcadia Lake

Arcadia Lake is a small harbor lake at the village of Arcadia with inlet access to Lake Michigan. Arcadia Township runs the Veterans Memorial Marina there, with 37 slips for boats from 16 to 80 feet, gas and diesel, a pump-out, and a trailer launch next door. A kayak launch sits at the neighboring park. The DNR stocked brown trout here from 2011 to 2017, but we did not find a current survey, so treat it mainly as a quiet harbor for reaching Lake Michigan.

Tippy Dam Pond

Above Tippy Dam, the dammed stretch of the Manistee, known as the Tippy Dam backwaters, gets regular DNR stockings of walleye and channel catfish. Tippy Dam Recreation Area has a boat launch and paddling, and a Recreation Passport is required for vehicles. It is a quiet option on days when the river below the dam is crowded.

Ice fishing

In winters with safe ice, Manistee and Portage lakes are both fished. Past DNR reports describe shanties off Penny Park on Manistee Lake, decent perch near the Ninth Street launch, and good pike. On Portage Lake, winter reports describe perch, with anglers sorting through small ones, small pike with an occasional keeper, and lake herring caught over deep water. Ice is never guaranteed. Check conditions locally and read the DNR weekly fishing report, which covers ice fishing in winter.

How the lakes fit a Lake Michigan trip

• Wind days. When the big lake is too rough, Portage and Bear lakes give you a fishing day close to town.
• Split the group. Serious anglers take an early Lake Michigan charter while the rest of the group fishes perch from a pier or a small boat.
• One boat, two waters. From Manistee Lake or Portage Lake, a small boat can reach Lake Michigan through the channel on calm days. Know your boat and the forecast before you go out.
• Fall salmon without the crowd. Jigging Manistee Lake and the channel in late summer and fall is an alternative to the bank at Tippy Dam. See our Manistee River guide for the river side.

A Recreation Passport is required for vehicles at state boating access sites. For a lake-week plan, see our family lake week checklist, fishing with kids and lakefront cabins guides.