Davison Lake

Lapeer County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

67ft Max
depth

54 acres 11 contours Public access

Paddling Index76Goodhigh-speed boating prohibited · sheltered geometry · wooded shoreline

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Depth scale

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The lake

Survey readout

Davison Lake is mapped to a depth of 67 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 54 acres in Lapeer County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding: 67 ft
Mean depth: 25.5 ft · estimated
Surface area: 54 acres
Estimated volume: 1,382 acre-ft · 450M gal
Shoreline: 1.35 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 15% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch · Rec Passport

Additional depth details11 contours

Contour depths: 0–67 ft
Recorded point soundings: 67 ft, 62 ft, 39 ft

23.4% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 58.9% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Lapeer County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 20 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.

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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: 42.88483, -83.37615
MI DNR lake ID: L5220
Vertical exaggeration: 1.4×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.2 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

76 / 100GoodData confidence: High

Davison Lake has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, well sheltered geometry, some nearby classified roads. Watercraft controls: High-speed boating prohibited.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Very Good	20.0 of 30	72% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (52% forest, 20% wetland; 19% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	21.6 of 25	mean fetch 590 m · 22% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controls	High-speed boating prohibited	12.8 of 15	High-speed boating prohibited
Public access	Good	12.8 of 15	1 site with DNR boating-facility records · 1 ramp lane · 6 trailer spaces
Road isolation	Good	8.8 of 15	some nearby classified roads · 13 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 215 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 15% 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 20% 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

19 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

Largemouth Bass

Brown Bullhead

Black Bullhead

Black Crappie

Crappie

Grass Pickerel

Yellow Bullhead

Lake Chubsucker

Yellow Perch

Bluegill

Rock Bass

Warmouth

Hybrid Sunfish

Pumpkinseed

Longear Sunfish

Blackchin Shiner

Fantail Darter

Iowa Darter

Historically stocked, no recent evidence: Rainbow Trout (last planted 1979) — not shown above.

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 19 species found here — 19 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 BullheadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

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).

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.

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

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

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).

Brown 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).

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

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

Hybrid 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).

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

Lake ChubsuckerOpen 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).

Longear 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).

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).

WarmouthOpen 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).

Yellow BullheadOpen 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 · 2015–2023

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

Largemouth Bass21.8″ · 2023 · spincasting · artificial lure

Crappie16.5″ · 2015 · ice fishing · wax worm

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

26 April to 5 May 2021 · DNR SFR 2022-322

984Fish sampled

18Species

15 ftWater clarity

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 52 · Northern Pike 22 · Grass Pickerel 4

Panfish Bluegill 578 · Pumpkinseed 73 · Warmouth 21

All survey species18 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass52 caught · to 17″

Northern Pike22 caught · to 32″

Grass Pickerel4 caught · to 11″

Panfish

Bluegill578 caught · to 8″

Pumpkinseed73 caught · to 8″

Warmouth21 caught · to 6″

Black Crappie14 caught · to 12″

Longear Sunfish6 caught · to 3″

Hybrid Sunfish4 caught · to 3″

Yellow Perch2 caught · to 4″

Rock Bass1 caught · to 10″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead122 caught · to 12″

Brown Bullhead41 caught · to 14″

Black Bullhead26 caught · to 14″

Forage & nongame

Fantail Darter9 caught · to 1″

Lake Chubsucker5 caught · to 8″

Blackchin Shiner2 caught · to 2″

Iowa Darter2 caught · to 2″

Stocking: From 1949 to 1979, Davison Lake was managed for Rainbow and Brown Trout with semi -annual stocking of 1,500 fish of each species.

Length is the largest fish netted in the survey, not an angler record. Source: Michigan DNR Status of the Fishery Resource report.

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1979–1979

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

Rainbow trout1,500 stocked · 1979

No stockings recorded since 1979 — shown as history.

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.

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance

T-Rex Adventures≈4.8 mi1447 N Ortonville Rd, Ortonville · Google · Apple

Brown's Sporting Food Inc≈6.9 mi7281 S State St, Goodrich · Google · Apple

NY Petroleum≈10.1 mi415 S Broadway St, Lake Orion · 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

Davison Lake — common questions

How deep is Davison Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Davison Lake is 67 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 Davison Lake?

Davison Lake covers about 54 acres in Lapeer County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Davison Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Davison Lake is 25.5 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Davison Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, northern pike, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead. The page lists all 19 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Davison Lake?

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