Boardman Lake
depth
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Depth scale
Survey readout
Boardman Lake is mapped to a depth of 73 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 330 acres in Grand Traverse County, Michigan.
Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey (depths read from the survey's isobath field; this lake's summary-depth column is blank in the source).
- Deepest sounding
- 73 ft
- Mean depth
- 26.7 ft · estimated
- Surface area
- 330 acres
- Estimated volume
- 8,812 acre-ft · 2,871M gal
- Shoreline
- 4.15 mi · irregular
- Aquatic vegetation
- 5% of surface · NDVI estimate
- Public access
- Boat Launch
Additional depth details9 contours
- Contour depths
- 0–73 ft
- Recorded point soundings
- 73 ft
Other waters with a public launch on this map: Boardman River. Their launches are not marked on the model — only Boardman Lake’s own are.
32.8% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 53.7% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.
Compare with another lakeProvenance
Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.
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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
- 44.74842, -85.61405
- MI DNR lake ID
- L17129
- Vertical exaggeration
- 1.4×
- Basemap
- USDA NAIP · public domain
- Model size
- 2.4 MB
Paddling
Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21Boardman Lake has a substantially developed setting, moderate open-water exposure, substantial nearby higher-volume 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 | Modest | 0.7 of 35 | 18% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (7% forest, 6% wetland; 77% developed) |
| Geometric wind exposure | Good | 12.4 of 29 | mean fetch 1,618 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 | Modest | 0.9 of 18 | substantial nearby higher-volume roads · 214 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 37,740 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
- Limited — 7% forest and 6% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →
Fish you might catch
from angler catches, DNR surveys & active stocking7 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
Channel Catfish
Brown Trout
White Sucker
Smallmouth Bass
Yellow Perch
BluegillHistorically stocked, no recent evidence: Walleye (last planted 1983) — not shown above.
Fishing rules for this lake Beta
Size and daily limits for the 7 species found here — 6 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.
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
Notable catches
Master Angler program · 1998–2025Trophy-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.
Catch details by species7 species
Biggest on record
Bait: live bait (5) · artificial lure (1) · golden shiner (1) · night crawler (1)
Method: ice fishing (4) · spincasting (3) · still fishing (2) · spearfishing (1)
DNR stocking
state stocking record · 1979–1983Fish the Michigan DNR has planted in this lake — what was added, distinct from what a survey netted above.
No stockings recorded since 1983 — shown as history.
Non-native species records
1 recordPlants & algae
- 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 distanceBait & tackle nearby
licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distanceBoardman Lake — common questions
How deep is Boardman Lake?
The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Boardman Lake is 73 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 Boardman Lake?
Boardman Lake covers about 330 acres in Grand Traverse County, Michigan.
What is the average depth of Boardman Lake?
The estimated mean depth of Boardman Lake is 26.7 ft, calculated from the survey contours.
What fish are in Boardman Lake?
Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include brown trout, channel catfish, northern pike, smallmouth bass, bluegill, yellow perch. The page lists all 7 species and the evidence behind each.
Is there public access to Boardman Lake?
No public launch for Boardman Lake appears in the Michigan DNR access data. That is not the same as the lake being private -- municipal and private ramps are not in that source.
