Best up north lake for family, fishing, and vacation rental?

[DubyaDee]

My wife and I are looking to purchase a cottage up north. We'll rent it out for some income, and spend time there ourselves. She wants to stay in the lower peninsula, be family oriented, desirable for renters, and not be too much of a party lake. I want to make sure it's got killer smallmouth fishing. We're looking at Lake Charlevoix, Elk, Burt/Mullet, and Hubbard.

Any other lakes I should look at that check all of our boxes?

[Hollada]

Walloon, crooked, long.

Lots of others around TC. Have you started looking yet? I’ve been watching the lakefront house prices on all the lakes mentioned for a few years now. Crazy prices per square foot....

[brnzbaklvr]

The North west side is very expensive...I called on a shack with a decent lot on Charlevoix and it was 400k...If I could afford it I really like Walloon...
I have a place down by Cadillac on a small lake (Not lakefront )and it isnt quite as expensive down there and it is only 2 1/2 hours..
When I got my place 5 years ago there were around 10 houses for sale on our lake ..Now there isnt any..I have to believe prices have gone up quite a bit..
My inlaws have a place on Long Lake...There are a bunch of great things about that area...Its less expensive, way less busy, Lake Huron is close and has some awesome beaches, and the taxes will be cheaper..
Your from Shelby Township, close to me, so you are used to it being busy and lots of traffic but the Traverse city area is turning into a Zoo...
Something you really need to think about with a second home is driving distance....There is alot of maintenance in a second home especially if you rent it out on weekends or whatever...Ifs tough to find caretakers up there that are trustworthy and reasonable so there are going to be some weekends that you will have to go up just to work on the place..I had to take 3 days off last year to run up there and fire up the generator during a power outage.....I would absolutely hate it if my place was much further away..Alot of the guys I work with in your area have places on Secord, Wixom, Sanford etc because it is close..
I love going up North and having a place but it is very expensive..My place is paid for and it still costs around 4000 dollars a year and that is if I dont have a major maintenance issue or project...and you have to have 2 of everything for both homes...I dont know your situation but it is something to think about and budget in...
It's great to be able to just jump in my truck and head north on Friday night...Dont have to worry about packing because I have clothes, Hygiene items and all that up there..My quads , Kayaks , Jet Ski etc etc and all the gear is in the barns along with boat and tackle...Then when I come home Monday morning I just go straight to work with nothing to unpack...Its great...

[DubyaDee]

I've been watching the prices for the last few years and they've been pretty consistent. Renting waterfront in TC makes the price of purchasing seem more reasonable, especially if you rent it out the weeks you're not there. The west side is certainly more down to earth and reasonable. Hubbard is one of the lakes on my short list because it's relatively easy to get up to last minute. Thanks for the suggestions!