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Crooked Lake

Alcona County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey
28ft Max
depth
86 acres 7 contours
Paddling Index72GoodMedium confidencehigh-speed boating prohibited · sheltered geometry · away from major roads
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Crooked Lake is mapped to a depth of 28 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 86 acres in Alcona 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
28 ft
Mean depth
12.2 ft · estimated
Surface area
86 acres
Estimated volume
1,047 acre-ft · 341M gal
Shoreline
3.18 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation
16% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details7 contours
Contour depths
0–28 ft
Recorded point soundings
28 ft, 27 ft

44.8% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 29.7% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Chart data

Provenance

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
44.73574, -83.86899
MI DNR lake ID
L10169
Vertical exaggeration
2.73×
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
2.4 MB

Watercraft rules

county-enforced local controls · MI DNR
High-speed boating prohibitedwhole lake, as mapped
Official rule details1 rule
High-speed boating prohibited“High-speed boating and water skiing prohibited”
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
72 / 100GoodData confidence: Medium

Crooked Lake has a partly natural setting, well sheltered geometry, limited nearby major-road exposure. Watercraft controls: High-speed boating prohibited.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

ComponentRatingPoints of weightMeasurement
Natural settingGood18.9 of 3563% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (52% forest, 7% wetland; 30% developed)
Geometric wind exposureExcellent25.7 of 29mean fetch 581 m · 29% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controlsHigh-speed boating prohibited15.0 of 18High-speed boating prohibited
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 Good11.9 of 18limited nearby major-road exposure · 10 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 1,491 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
Moderate — approximately 16% 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 — 52% forest and 7% 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, DNR surveys & active stocking

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

White Sucker
Yellow Perch
Bluegill
Bluntnose Minnow

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

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 4 species found here — 4 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.

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).
Bluntnose MinnowOpen 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.
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).
Bluntnose MinnowOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)
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 · 1999–2010

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

Yellow Perch14.5″ · 2010 · ice fishing · shiner
Bluegill10.8″ · 1999 · still fishing · leaf worms
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

DNR SFR 2010-102
3Fish sampled
2Species

Forage & nongame

White Sucker2 caught
Bluntnose Minnow1 caught
Stocking: In addition, smallmouth bass fingerlings and adults, largemouth bass, bluegill and yellow perch fingerlings were stocked in various numbers between 1937 and 1945.
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 · 1990–1990

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

Walleye6,169 stocked · 1990

No stockings recorded since 1990 — shown as history.

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
Pioneer General Store≈13.1 mi · (989) 826-3580432 N Mount Tom Rd, Mio · Google · Apple
Tom's Mug & Jug≈13.3 mi · (989) 826-57312 North MT Tom Rd, Mio · 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

Crooked Lake — common questions

How deep is Crooked Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Crooked Lake is 28 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 Crooked Lake?

Crooked Lake covers about 86 acres in Alcona County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Crooked Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Crooked Lake is 12.2 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Crooked Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include bluegill, yellow perch, bluntnose minnow, white sucker. The page shows the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Crooked Lake?

No public launch for Crooked 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.