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Carr Lake

Eaton County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey
44ft Max
depth
39 acres 9 contours
Paddling Index80Very GoodMedium confidencesheltered geometry · wooded shoreline · away from major roads
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Carr Lake is mapped to a depth of 44 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 39 acres in Eaton County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding
44 ft
Mean depth
19.4 ft · estimated
Surface area
39 acres
Estimated volume
752 acre-ft · 245M gal
Shoreline
0.77 mi · round
Aquatic vegetation
4% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details9 contours
Contour depths
0–44 ft
Recorded point soundings
44 ft, 35 ft

29.6% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 47.3% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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
Mud LakeCarr Lake (this lake)
Eaton County, Michigan · all 2 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

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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
42.71998, -85.07315
MI DNR lake ID
L16316
Vertical exaggeration
2.18×
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
2.1 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21
80 / 100Very GoodData confidence: Medium

Carr Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, well sheltered geometry, limited nearby major-road exposure. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

ComponentRatingPoints of weightMeasurement
Natural settingExcellent28.8 of 3578% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (9% forest, 68% wetland; 8% developed)
Geometric wind exposureExcellent29.4 of 29mean fetch 325 m · 100% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controlsNone identified8.8 of 18No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public accessNot listedNo 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 isolationVery Good12.7 of 18limited nearby major-road exposure · 10 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 786 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
Moderate — narrow in places — wakes would carry across parts of the lake
Aquatic vegetation
Low — approximately 4% 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
High — 9% forest and 68% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
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

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

Largemouth Bass
Bullhead
Redear Sunfish

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 3 species found here — 3 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.

BullheadOpen 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).
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.
BullheadOpen 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).
Redear SunfishOpen 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).

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. 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 · 1996

Master Angler catches recorded on this lake — too few to show a pattern, so they are listed individually.

Largemouth Bass23″ · 1996 · spincasting · silver black pop-r
Largemouth Bass22″ · 1996 · spincasting · soft plastic zara puppy
Bullhead15″ · 1996 · still fishing · wax worm
Redear Sunfish11.2″ · 1996 · still fishing · mico-crawl
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.

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.

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance
Vern's Repair & Sport LLC≈2.5 mi11994 Grand Ledge Hwy, Lake Odessa · Google · Apple
AL & Pete's Sport Shop≈12 mi111 S Jefferson St, Hastings · Google · Apple
Backwoods Trading Post≈12.7 mi132 Division St, Freeport · 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

Carr Lake — common questions

How deep is Carr Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Carr Lake is 44 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 Carr Lake?

Carr Lake covers about 39 acres in Eaton County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Carr Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Carr Lake is 19.4 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Carr Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, bullhead, redear sunfish. The page shows the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Carr Lake?

No public launch for Carr 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.

More lakes in Eaton County