Diamond Lake

Cass County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

64ft Max
depth

1,079 acres 12 contours Public access

Paddling Index30Modest

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Depth scale

05102040506364

The lake

Survey readout

Diamond Lake is mapped to a depth of 64 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 1,079 acres in Cass County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding: 64 ft
Mean depth: 15.4 ft · estimated
Surface area: 1,079 acres
Estimated volume: 16,577 acre-ft · 5,402M gal
Shoreline: 7.08 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 6% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch · Rec Passport

Additional depth details12 contours

Contour depths: 0–64 ft
Recorded point soundings: 64 ft, 63 ft, 50 ft, 42 ft

Other waters with a public launch on this map: Stone Lake. Their launches are not marked on the model — only Diamond Lake’s own are.

60.2% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 31.2% is deeper than 20 ft; the survey shows 3 distinct basins. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Cass County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 32 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: 41.90247, -85.97625
MI DNR lake ID: L30618
Vertical exaggeration: 1.5×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.1 MB

Paddling

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

30 / 100ModestData confidence: High

Diamond Lake has a substantially developed setting, notable 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	0.6 of 30	20% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (10% forest, 9% wetland; 56% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Mixed	6.8 of 25	mean fetch 2,344 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · long fetch in some directions
Watercraft controls	None identified	7.5 of 15	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Good	12.8 of 15	1 site with DNR boating-facility records · 2 ramp lanes · 60 trailer spaces
Road isolation	Modest	2.0 of 15	substantial nearby higher-volume roads · 142 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 6,268 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 6% 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 — 10% forest and 9% 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

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

Muskellunge

Northern Pike

Walleyestocked

Largemouth Bass

Black Crappie

Crappie

Redear Sunfish

Yellow Perch

Bluegill

Rock Bass

Pumpkinseed

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 11 species found here — 10 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.

Northern PikeSpecial rulesNamed in a fisheries order for this lake — see the rule text below

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.

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).

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).

MuskellungeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 42" · Limit: 1 per angler per year (FO-215 · statewide inland) Not a daily limit: one Muskellunge per angler per license year (April 1 – March 31), and harvest must be registered within 24 hours at Michigan.gov/RegisterFish. Catch-and-immediate-release is open all year (FO-215.23A Note 3).

Northern PikeSpecial rulesNamed in a fisheries order for this lake — see the rule text below

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).

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).

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)

Yellow PerchOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland)

Official rule text for this lake

“protected slot limit on Northern Pike from 24 – 34 inches.” — 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

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 · 1996–2025

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.

30Catches recorded

8Species

Bluegill14 recorded · to 11.8″

Crappie5 recorded · to 14.5″

Rock Bass3 recorded · to 12″

Pumpkinseed2 recorded · to 9.5″

Catch details by species8 species

Bluegill14 recorded · to 11.8″ · latest 2025

Crappie5 recorded · to 14.5″ · latest 2025

Rock Bass3 recorded · to 12″ · latest 2014

Pumpkinseed2 recorded · to 9.5″ · latest 2024

Redear Sunfish2 recorded · to 11.8″ · latest 2025

Yellow Perch2 recorded · to 14″ · latest 2023

Largemouth Bass1 recorded · to 21.5″ · latest 2025

Muskellunge1 recorded · to 50″ · latest 2004

Biggest on record

Muskellunge50″ · 2004 · spincasting

Largemouth Bass21.5″ · 2025 · still fishing · live bait

Crappie14.5″ · 2006 · trolling

Crappie14.2″ · 2025 · still fishing · live bait

Crappie14.2″ · 2024 · still fishing · live bait

Bait: live bait (21) · leech (2)
Method: spincasting (13) · still fishing (10) · trolling (5) · ice 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

69Fish sampled

4Species

Gamefish

Northern Pike2 caught

Panfish

Black Crappie45 caught

Bluegill11 caught

Yellow Perch11 caught

Stocking: Walleye stocking (2 million fry) occurred as early as 1892 according to Michigan Fish Commission reports.

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 · 1979–2026

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

Walleye6,935,950 stocked · 1979–2026 · 38 plantings

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

13 records

Mussels & snails

Banded Mysterysnail
Chinese Mysterysnail
Freshwater Golden Clam
Zebra Mussel

Plants & algae

Common Reed
Curly-leaf Pondweed
Eurasian Watermilfoil
Narrow-leaved Cattail
Purple Loosestrife
Starry Stonewort
Yellow Iris

Other invertebrates

Freshwater Jellyfish

Fish

Atlantic Salmon

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 distance

🎢 Playground≈0.3 mi · 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

Elk Park Feed Store≈2.5 mi60559 Calvin Center RD, Vandalia · Google · Apple

Clear H20 Tackle LLC≈7.4 mi69037 Christiana Lake Rd, Edwardsburg · Google · Apple

Happy Jake's LLC≈8.3 mi24992 Marcellus Hwy, Dowagiac · 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

Diamond Lake — common questions

How deep is Diamond Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Diamond Lake is 64 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 Diamond Lake?

Diamond Lake covers about 1,079 acres in Cass County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Diamond Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Diamond Lake is 15.4 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Diamond Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, walleye, black crappie, bluegill. The page lists all 11 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Diamond Lake?

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