Welcome!
Welcome to the Sage Lake community, a place to gather with friends at the sandbar, enjoy a day of boating, swimming or fishing for walleye, pike, bass and panfish. Sage Lake is the largest public lake in Ogemaw County, and we work all year to make it a place for everyone to enjoy.
If you're new to the lake or planning a visit, there's lots to do on summer weekends, so check out the events calendar. Our largest event is the annual Firecracker 5K, which now draws more than 500 people from across the state for the Kids' Sparkler Sprint and 5K fun run/walk. Each year, it's held on the Saturday closest to the Fourth of July. You should also know our fireworks show is incredible. The 5K helps pay for that.
We pride ourselves on our efforts to reduce and contain Eurasian milfoil and other invasive weeds that would otherwise choke out native plants, which sustain the lake's fish and ecosystem.
Our fishing committee hosts several tournaments throughout the year and offers fishing clinics for kids. We've successfully stocked our lake with thousands of walleyes — Michigan's ultimate game fish — and they're thriving. Our fishing committee also hosts a Rough Fish Tournament each June that has resulted in the removal of thousands of pounds of predator fish — bullheads, dog fish and gar pike — to help panfish thrive. The predator fish are donated to the ARK Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in St. Helen to feed injured eagles, otters and other wildlife in rehab there.
Other notable events include Mary Ellen's Fun Day for Kids, the Sage Lake Fire and Ice Fest and Chili Cookoff in February, and a silent auction dinner benefit in the fall to support lake initiatives. Association membership (just $45 per household) also supports what we’re doing by helping pay for everything from fish stocking and raffle prizes for Fun Day to boring but essential things such as insurance, technology fees and other crucial administrative costs.
Please support us by joining or renewing your membership directly on our website at the membership portal. We'll send you two informative newsletters — one in the fall and another in the spring — to keep you up to date on everything at Sage Lake.
I look forward to seeing you out there.
Sincerely,
Betsy Miner-Swartz
President, Sage Lake Association
