Au Train Lake

Alger County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

30ft Max
depth

838 acres 6 contours Public access

Paddling Index47ModestMedium confidence

Get directions

Depth scale

051015202530

The lake

Survey readout

Au Train Lake is mapped to a depth of 30 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 838 acres in Alger County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 30 ft
Mean depth: 11.1 ft · estimated
Surface area: 838 acres
Estimated volume: 9,326 acre-ft · 3,039M gal
Shoreline: 6.82 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 3% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details6 contours

Contour depths: 0–30 ft
Recorded point soundings: 30 ft

38.9% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 12% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

Compare with another lake

Location

Alger County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 105 lakes and 1 bay · tap a dot for that lake

Chart data

Provenance

Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.

⚠ Not for navigation

Spot an error? Send a correction

Map details & sources5 sources

All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.

Survey-derived depth contours drape over USGS 3DEP elevation, with a USDA NAIP aerial basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Colour shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.

Coordinates: 46.40003, -86.84211
MI DNR lake ID: L34671
Vertical exaggeration: 2.66×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.7 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21

47 / 100ModestData confidence: Medium

Au Train Lake has a partly natural setting, moderate open-water exposure, some nearby classified roads. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Good	20.0 of 35	63% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (27% forest, 36% wetland; 25% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Good	10.1 of 29	mean fetch 1,960 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · moderate open-water fetch
Watercraft controls	None identified	8.8 of 18	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Not listed	—	No DNR-listed access site. Township, county and road-end launches are not in this source, so this is not evidence that access is poor — the component is excluded and the remaining weights are renormalized.
Road isolation	Good	8.4 of 18	some nearby classified roads · 22 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 1,007 vehicles/day

Additional paddling considerations

These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.

Wake sensitivity: Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: Low — approximately 3% mapped coverage · NAIP aerial imagery (NDVI)
Observed motorized activity: Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
Wildlife habitat potential: Moderate — 27% forest and 36% wetland cover within 150 m of shore

Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →

How this index is calculated. The Paddling Index is a relative composite derived from lake geometry and public environmental, access, roadway and watercraft-control data. It is not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of an individual outing. Differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful — an 84 and an 82 are broadly comparable. Components and weights: natural setting 30%, geometric wind exposure 25%, watercraft controls 15%, public access 15%, road isolation 15%; observed motorboat activity is weighted 0% because no defensible lake-level measurement exists. Where a component has no data the remaining weights are renormalized and the confidence rating is lowered; below Medium confidence no number is shown. Sources: MI DNR Watercraft Control Areas (2026-08), USGS/MRLC NLCD Land Cover (2021), MDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (2025) and MI DNR bathymetric survey outline (0 ft isobath). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from angler catches, DNR surveys & active stocking

13 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).

Northern Pike

Common Carp

Walleye

Brown Trout

Largemouth Bassstocked

White Sucker

Smallmouth Bass

Cisco

Brown Bullhead

Yellow Perch

Rock Bass

Pumpkinseed

Johnny Darter

Historically stocked, no recent evidence: Tiger Muskellunge (last planted 1990) — not shown above.

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 13 species found here — 12 open to harvest, 1 with a special rule or closed season.

These are hook-and-line size, daily limit and season rules. Gear, spearing and bow fishing, spawning closures and rod limits are set by other Fisheries Orders and are not shown here.

Northern PikeSpecial rulesNamed in a fisheries order for this lake — see the rule text below

Brown BullheadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

Beta. This panel is newly published. Every value is parsed from the Michigan DNR fisheries orders and hand-checked against the printed digest, but the coverage and wording are still under review. If anything here disagrees with the Michigan DNR's Fisheries Orders or its printed digest, the DNR is right — the signed Fisheries Order is the legal text; the digest summarises it.

Brown BullheadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

Brown TroutOpen to harvestMinimum size: 8" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · unclassified inland lake) Five (5) trout, no more than three (3) trout 15 inches or greater.

CiscoOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 5 in any combination (2026 DNR digest · Cisco/Whitefish (NOTE 7)) 5 in any combination of Cisco, Lake Whitefish and Round Whitefish on inland waters; 10 on the Great Lakes, connecting waters and Type F lakes.

Common CarpOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

Johnny DarterOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

Largemouth BassOpen to harvestMinimum size: 14" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 5 is in any combination of Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, not 5 of each (FO-215.23A).

Northern PikeSpecial rulesNamed in a fisheries order for this lake — see the rule text below

PumpkinseedOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 25 is in any combination of the sunfishes — Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black and White Crappie, Rock Bass, Green, Longear and Redear Sunfish, Warmouth and hybrids — not 25 of each (FO-215.23A).

Rock BassOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 25 is in any combination of the sunfishes — Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black and White Crappie, Rock Bass, Green, Longear and Redear Sunfish, Warmouth and hybrids — not 25 of each (FO-215.23A).

Smallmouth BassOpen to harvestMinimum size: 14" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 5 is in any combination of Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, not 5 of each (FO-215.23A).

WalleyeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 15" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-215 · statewide inland)

White SuckerOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

Yellow PerchOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland)

Official rule text for this lake

“no size limit on Northern Pike and up to five (5) Northern Pike may be retained in the daily possession limit with only one (1) 24- inches or greater.” — FO-206

From FO-206.26 (eff. 2026-04-01) / FO-215.23A (eff. 2023-09-15) / FO-254.25 (eff. 2025-10-10), checked against the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations digest · verified 2026-08-24. Regulations can change — Michigan DNR rules are the controlling source; verify current regulations before fishing. Official regulations

Compiled from registered Master Angler catches, Michigan DNR fishery surveys and Michigan DNR stockings within the last 10 years. Silhouettes are stylized and scaled to typical adult sizes relative to one another. Presence is not a promise — fishing isn’t a sure thing.

Notable catches

Master Angler program · 1997–2024

Trophy-size fish anglers caught here and registered with the DNR — what people have actually caught, distinct from what a survey netted or the state stocked below.

20Catches recorded

10Species

Northern Pike4 recorded · to 43″

White Sucker4 recorded · to 22″

Yellow Perch3 recorded · to 15.8″

Brown Trout2 recorded · to 29″

Catch details by species10 species

Northern Pike4 recorded · to 43″ · latest 2024

White Sucker4 recorded · to 22″ · latest 2022

Yellow Perch3 recorded · to 15.8″ · latest 2000

Brown Trout2 recorded · to 29″ · latest 2024

Walleye2 recorded · to 31″ · latest 2009

Cisco1 recorded · to 16″ · latest 2022

Common Carp1 recorded · to 32.8″ · latest 1997

Pumpkinseed1 recorded · to 9.8″ · latest 2001

Rock Bass1 recorded · latest 2008

Smallmouth Bass1 recorded · to 23.5″ · latest 2009

Biggest on record

Northern Pike43″ · 2024 · spincasting · artificial lure

Northern Pike41.1″ · 2019 · still fishing · minnow

Northern Pike41″ · 2000 · still fishing · pike minnow

Northern Pike40.2″ · 2015 · ice fishing · sucker minnow

Common Carp32.8″ · 1997 · drift fishing

Bait: artificial lure (3) · live bait (2) · minnow (2)
Method: still fishing (6) · spincasting (4) · ice fishing (4) · trolling (3)

Master Angler entries are fish that met the program’s minimum size and were registered by the angler — they show what this lake has produced, not what a day here will produce. A catch on record is history, not a species listing: “Fish you might catch” lists only species with current evidence. Source: Michigan DNR Master Angler data.

Fishery

241Fish sampled

4Species

Panfish

Rock Bass30 caught

Bullhead & catfish

Brown Bullhead129 caught

Forage & nongame

White Sucker67 caught

Johnny Darter15 caught

Stocking: A walleye reef was constructed in 1972, fish shelters were installed in 1975, and black crappies, smallmouth bass, and tiger muskellunge were stocked.

This survey reported catch counts without lengths. Source: Michigan DNR Status of the Fishery Resource report (counts summed across survey years).

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1979–2026

Fish the Michigan DNR has planted in this lake — what was added, distinct from what a survey netted above.

Walleye642,726 stocked · 1979–2026 · 34 plantings

Complete stocking history3 older species

Smallmouth bass72,074 stocked · 1983–1994 · 9 plantings

Tiger muskellunge7,250 stocked · 1983–1990 · 5 plantings

Largemouth bass7,375 stocked · 1985

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

3 records

Mussels & snails

Zebra Mussel

Plants & algae

Flowering Rush
Purple Loosestrife

What does non-native mean?

USGS records identify non-native species that have been documented for this lake or its shoreline. Non-native does not necessarily mean invasive, and historical records do not confirm current presence.

Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; underlying nonindigenous species records from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

At the lake

community-mapped amenities · straight-line distance

⛻ Campgroundon the lake

🚿 Restrooms / vault toileton the lake

🏖 Beach / swim areaon the lake

From OpenStreetMap community mapping — shown only where something is mapped; an amenity missing here may still exist. Distances are straight-line. Verify before you rely on it. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance

Denman's Hardware Inc.≈9.1 mi320 E Superior St, Munising · Google · Apple

Hillside Party Store East LLC≈11.2 miE9825 Co Rd H15, Munising · Google · Apple

Bergland Outfitters≈14.8 mi · (906) 235-8288358022 State Hwy M28, Merriweather · Google · Apple

Dealers licensed by the Michigan DNR to sell live bait; listing is not an endorsement. Distances are straight-line, not driving — and call ahead: hours and stock change. Source: Michigan DNR retail bait dealer data.

Quick answers

Au Train Lake — common questions

How deep is Au Train Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Au Train Lake is 30 ft. That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.

How big is Au Train Lake?

Au Train Lake covers about 838 acres in Alger County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Au Train Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Au Train Lake is 11.1 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Au Train Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include brown trout, largemouth bass, northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, brown bullhead. The page lists all 13 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Au Train Lake?

Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 1 public access site on Au Train Lake, including Au Train Lake.