Big Lake

Otsego County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

81ft Max
depth

131 acres 12 contours Public access

Paddling Index63Mixedwhole-lake slow-no-wake · sheltered geometry

Get directions

Depth scale

05203850608081

The lake

Survey readout

Big Lake is mapped to a depth of 81 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 131 acres in Otsego County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding: 81 ft
Mean depth: 23.2 ft · estimated
Surface area: 131 acres
Estimated volume: 3,043 acre-ft · 991M gal
Shoreline: 2.35 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 5% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details12 contours

Contour depths: 0–81 ft
Recorded point soundings: 81 ft, 80 ft, 52 ft, 38 ft

23.3% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 54% is deeper than 20 ft; the survey shows 2 distinct basins. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

Compare with another lake

Location

Otsego County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 46 lakes · 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: 45.00948, -84.58198
MI DNR lake ID: L1282
Vertical exaggeration: 1.4×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.2 MB

Watercraft rules

county-enforced local controls · MI DNR

Slow — no wakewhole lake, as mapped

Slow — no wakedesignated zones

Official rule details2 rules

Slow — no wake“Hours for high-speed boating and water skiing; slow--no wake speed”

Slow — no wake“Slow-- no wake speed”

Where the mapped control areas and the official regulation language differ, the language governs. Official county watercraft controls.

Paddling

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

63 / 100MixedData confidence: High

Big Lake has a partly natural setting, generally sheltered geometry, nearby higher-volume roads. Watercraft controls: Whole-lake slow-no-wake.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Good	13.3 of 30	58% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (32% forest, 15% wetland; 34% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Very Good	18.1 of 25	mean fetch 783 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch
Watercraft controls	Whole-lake slow-no-wake	13.8 of 15	Slow — no wake; Slow — no wake — designated zones only
Public access	Good	12.8 of 15	1 site with DNR boating-facility records · 1 ramp lane · 3 trailer spaces
Road isolation	Mixed	5.3 of 15	nearby higher-volume roads · 13 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 4,075 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 5% 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 — 32% forest and 15% 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 Boating Access Sites (2026-08), 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

14 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

Walleyestocked

Largemouth Bass

White Sucker

Brown Bullhead

Bullhead

Black Crappie

Crappie

Yellow Perch

Bluegill

Rock Bass

Pumpkinseed

Bluntnose Minnow

Mimic Shiner

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 14 species found here — 14 open to harvest.

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.

Black CrappieOpen 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).

BluegillOpen 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).

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.

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

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

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

CrappieOpen 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).

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).

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

Northern PikeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 24" · Daily limit: 2 (FO-215 · statewide inland)

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).

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)

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 · 2000–2023

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.

16Catches recorded

6Species

Bluegill9 recorded · to 11.8″ · latest 2023

Bullhead3 recorded · to 16″ · latest 2004

Crappie1 recorded · latest 2014

Largemouth Bass1 recorded · to 24.5″ · latest 2008

Pumpkinseed1 recorded · to 9.8″ · latest 2005

Rock Bass1 recorded · to 13.9″ · latest 2003

Biggest on record

Largemouth Bass24.5″ · 2008 · spincasting · night crawler

Bullhead16″ · 2003 · still fishing · earthworms

Bullhead15″ · 2004 · spincasting

Bullhead14″ · 2000 · still fishing · leech

Rock Bass13.9″ · 2003 · still fishing · worm

Bait: worm (4) · wax worm (2) · night crawler (2)
Method: spincasting (6) · still fishing (6) · drift fishing (2) · fly fishing (1)

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

surveyed 2011 · DNR SFR 2011-125

2,216Fish sampled

12Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 60 · Northern Pike 14

Panfish Bluegill 1,232 · Yellow Perch 124 · Rock Bass 117

All survey species11 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass60 caught

Northern Pike14 caught

Panfish

Bluegill1,232 caught

Yellow Perch124 caught

Rock Bass117 caught

Black Crappie6 caught

Bullhead & catfish

Brown Bullhead3 caught

Forage & nongame

Mimic Shiner484 caught

Pumpkinseed59 caught

Bluntnose Minnow41 caught

White Sucker1 caught

Stocking: Fish management practices date back to the 1930s at Big Lake when the lake was first stocked with fish by the Michigan Department of Conservati on (MDOC).

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 · 1988–2026

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

Walleye252,159 stocked · 1988–2026 · 22 plantings

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

No non-native species recorded in the available dataset. This does not confirm that no non-native species are present.

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

🚿 Restrooms / vault toileton the lake · 2 mapped

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

Dreffs Bait Shop≈1.9 mi5904 E M-32, Gaylord · Google · Apple

Boathouse Marine≈5.4 mi3819 Old US 27 S, Gaylord · Google · Apple

Otsego Lake Corner Store≈7 mi4800 W Otsego Lake Dr., Gaylord · 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

Big Lake — common questions

How deep is Big Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Big Lake is 81 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 Big Lake?

Big Lake covers about 131 acres in Otsego County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Big Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Big Lake is 23.2 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Big Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead. The page lists all 14 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Big Lake?

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