Michigan Lake Depths

Catfish family

Bullheads (brown, yellow and black)

Ameiurus nebulosus (brown) · A. natalis (yellow) · A. melas (black) · also called bullhead

Recorded in 288 Michigan lakes and bays
Illustration of a bullheads in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Typical adult
Brown bullhead 8–14 in, about 1 lb
Depth
Mostly shallow, but found as deep as 40 ft
Feeds
At night, on the bottom
Spawns
Late spring–early summer, in nests near cover
Handle with care
Sharp spines on the dorsal and pectoral fins
Michigan records
Brown Bullhead: 3 lb 12 oz, 17.5 in — Alcona Dam Pond, Alcona County, 2014
Yellow Bullhead: 3 lb 10 oz, 16.8 in — Lake Sixteen, Oakland County, 2003
Black Bullhead: 3 lb 7 oz, 17 in — Magician Lake, Cass County, 1999

Where bullheads have been recorded

288 of the 1,288 Michigan lakes on this site with fish records list bullheads, across 76 counties, including 7 Great Lakes bays. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

Saginaw Bay, Bay CountyLake St. Clair, St. Clair CountyBig Bay de Noc, Delta CountyLittle Bay de Noc, Delta CountyWildfowl Bay, Huron CountyHoughton Lake, Roscommon CountyBurt Lake, Cheboygan CountyLake Charlevoix, Charlevoix CountyMullett Lake, Cheboygan CountyBrest Bay, Monroe CountyManistique Lake, Mackinac CountyBlack Lake, Cheboygan CountyCrystal Lake, Benzie CountyFletcher Pond, Alpena CountyHubbard Lake, Alcona CountyIndian Lake, Schoolcraft CountyTawas Bay, Iosco CountyGrand Lake, Presque Isle CountyLong Lake, Presque Isle CountyGlen Lake, Leelanau CountyHamlin Lake, Mason CountyWalloon Lake, Charlevoix CountyBrevoort Lake, Mackinac CountyMuskegon Lake, Muskegon CountyDouglas Lake, Cheboygan CountyLong Lake, Grand Traverse CountyGun Lake, Barry CountyLake Mitchell, Wexford CountyCrooked Lake, Emmet CountyPortage Lake, Manistee CountyMartiny Lake, Mecosta CountyLake Missaukee, Missaukee CountyGull Lake, Kalamazoo CountyOtsego Lake, Otsego CountyMilakokia Lake, Mackinac CountyBear Lake, Manistee CountyLake Margrethe, Crawford CountyLake Paradise, Emmet CountyLake Macatawa, Ottawa CountyColdwater Lake, Branch CountyVan Etten Lake, Iosco CountyDevils Lake, Lenawee CountyBelleville Lake, Wayne CountyWest Twin Lake, Montmorency CountyCass Lake, Oakland CountySanford Lake, Midland CountyLake Cadillac, Wexford CountyWixom Lake, Gladwin CountyLac La Belle, Keweenaw CountyAustin Lake, Kalamazoo CountyCedar Lake, Alcona CountyPickerel Lake, Emmet CountyMcDonald Lake, Schoolcraft CountyKent Lake, Oakland CountyPerch Lake, Iron CountyFord Lake, Washtenaw CountyLake Fenton, Genesee CountyClark Lake, Gogebic CountySage Lake, Ogemaw CountyOrchard Lake, Oakland CountyAu Train Lake, Alger CountyKlinger Lake, St. Joseph CountyMarble Lake, Branch CountyBeaver Lake, Alger CountyPrickett Lake, Houghton CountyWamplers Lake, Jackson CountyChippewa Lake, Mecosta CountyLake Antoine, Dickinson CountyFremont Lake, Newaygo CountyIndian Lake, Kalamazoo CountySilver Lake, Oceana CountyBeaver Lake, Alpena CountyPine Lake, Barry CountyWalled Lake, Oakland CountyWhite Lake, Oakland CountyTrout Lake, Chippewa CountyLittle Traverse Lake, Leelanau CountySilver Lake, Grand Traverse CountyCorey Lake, St. Joseph CountyClark Lake, Jackson CountyFife Lake, Grand Traverse CountyLobdell Lake, Genesee CountyCisco Lake, Gogebic CountyWhitmore Lake, Livingston CountyNorth Lake, Branch CountyLong Lake, Kalamazoo CountyGeorge Lake, Branch CountyLake Augusta, Presque Isle CountyStony Creek Lake, Macomb CountyCrooked Lake, Missaukee CountyNinth Street Pond, Alpena CountyWhitefish Lake, Montcalm CountyLong Lake, Iosco CountyLake Hudson, Lenawee CountyRound Lake, Delta CountyUnion Lake, Oakland CountyLake Lansing, Ingham CountyLangford Lake, Gogebic CountyLittle Lake, Marquette CountyBeaufort Lake, Baraga CountyNawakwa Lake, Alger CountyLake Ovid, Clinton CountyNepessing Lake, Lapeer CountyBaw Beese Lake, Hillsdale CountyEight Point Lake, Clare CountyLoon Lake, Iosco CountyCraig Lake, Baraga CountyWabasis Lake, Kent CountyThornapple Lake, Barry CountyEagle Lake, Cass CountyFont Lake, Charlevoix CountyLake of the Woods, Branch CountyGoguac Lake, Calhoun CountyBig Bear Lake, Otsego CountyLong Lake, Ionia CountyMorrison Lake, Ionia CountyMiner Lake, Allegan CountyThunder Lake, Schoolcraft CountyLake Chemung, Livingston CountyGrass Lake, Montmorency CountyMurray Lake, Kent CountyBirch Lake, Antrim CountyPickerel Lake, Newaygo CountyBodi Lake, Luce CountyLake Mecosta, Mecosta CountySaddle Lake, Van Buren CountyGravel Lake, Van Buren CountyMorrison Lake, Branch CountyJehnsen Lake, Mecosta CountyLong Lake, Montmorency CountyColdwater Lake, Isabella CountyTownline Lake, Montcalm CountyPike Lake, Luce CountySouth Dease Lake, Ogemaw CountyAu Sable Lake, Ogemaw CountyGeddes Pond, Washtenaw CountyReeds Lake, Kent CountyMcLaren Lake, Oceana CountyDonnell Lake, Cass CountyThompson Lake, Livingston CountyLake Roland, Houghton CountySand Lake, Iosco CountyLoon Lake, Oakland CountyEast Crooked Lake, Livingston CountyRush Lake, Montmorency CountyPeach Lake, Ogemaw CountyRoss Lake, Gladwin CountyGun Lake, Mason CountyMarl Lake, Roscommon CountyDickerson Lake, Montcalm CountyHalfmoon Lake, Washtenaw CountyBig Pine Island Lake, Kent CountyMcCollum Lake, Oscoda CountyGourdneck Lake, Kalamazoo CountyEvans Lake, Lenawee CountyEagle Lake, Allegan CountySilver Lake, Washtenaw CountyCavanaugh Lake, Washtenaw CountyLong Lake, St. Joseph CountySilver Lake, Branch CountySouth Lake, Washtenaw CountyLittlefield Lake, Isabella CountyWest Londo Lake, Iosco CountySouth Lake, Branch CountyClifford Lake, Montcalm CountyBills Lake, Newaygo CountyJewell Lake, Alcona CountyChicago Lake, Delta CountyJoslin Lake, Washtenaw CountyFrenchman Lake, Chippewa CountyGeorge Lake, Ogemaw CountySchool Section Lake, Oceana CountyMurphy Lake, Tuscola CountyRifle Lake, Ogemaw CountyFord Lake, Mason CountyMaple Lake, Van Buren CountyMiddle Straits Lake, Oakland CountyLong Lake, Oakland CountyGreat Bear Lake, Van Buren CountyBig Island Lake, Schoolcraft CountyLake May, Presque Isle CountyBudd Lake, Clare CountyTallman Lake, Mason CountyFish Lake, Barry CountyIron Mill Pond, Washtenaw CountyRound Lake, Mecosta CountyTriangle Lake, Schoolcraft CountyPine Lake, Manistee CountyBennett Lake, Livingston CountyBass Lake, Luce CountyKimball Lake, Newaygo CountyBig Lake, Allegan CountyHemlock Lake, Hillsdale CountyLong Lake, Barry CountyCedar Island Lake, Oakland CountyNichols Lake, Newaygo CountyThreemile Lake, Van Buren CountyOcqueoc Lake, Presque Isle CountyGilead Lake, Branch CountyDuck Lake, Allegan CountyPleasant Lake, Wexford CountyBig Lake, Otsego CountyEast Lake, Luce CountySilver Lake, Lenawee CountyBruin Lake, Washtenaw CountyPickerel Lake, Newaygo CountyJose Lake, Iosco CountyWoodhull Lake, Oakland CountyMorrison Lake, Branch CountyBear Lake, Hillsdale CountyOmena Lake, St. Joseph CountyHeron Lake, Oakland CountyArnold Lake, Clare CountyLake Emma, Presque Isle CountyHackert Lake, Mason CountyChief Lake, Manistee CountyCub Lake, Hillsdale CountyCedar Lake, Livingston CountyDerby Lake, Montcalm CountyCrooked Lake, Washtenaw CountyBush Lake, Oakland CountyEss Lake, Montmorency CountyCarney Lake, Dickinson CountyLong Lake, Oakland CountyLake Sixteen, Oakland CountyLoon Lake, Lake CountyBig Fish Lake, Lapeer CountySaddlebag Lake, Cass CountySixmile Lake, Ontonagon CountyEast Twin Lake, Luce CountyMehl Lake, Marquette CountyUpper Scott Lake, Allegan CountyCranberry Lake, Clare CountyLake George, Ogemaw CountyLake Fifteen, Montmorency CountySelkirk Lake, Allegan CountyMerrill Lake, Mecosta CountyArgo Pond, Washtenaw CountyPike Lake, Houghton CountyLake Lavine, Branch CountyCrystal Lake, Oceana CountyRound Lake, Hillsdale CountyPleasant Lake, Cass CountyJohnson Lake, Marquette CountyLoon Lake, Oakland CountyShafer Lake, Van Buren CountyWabascon Lake, Calhoun CountyOtter Lake, Lapeer CountyRoberts Lake, Cheboygan CountyClear Lake, Van Buren CountyScotts Lake, Antrim CountyHubbell Pond, Oakland CountyLoon Lake, Montcalm CountyLong Lake, Kalkaska CountyLake Minnawanna, Lapeer CountyIndian Lake, Osceola CountyUpper Jeptha Lake, Van Buren CountyLoon Lake, Presque Isle CountyDavison Lake, Lapeer CountyBelas Lake, Cass CountyAngel Lake, Kent CountyEmerald Lake, Otsego CountySutherland Lake, Clare CountyCrooked Lake, Montmorency CountyPerry Lake (South and Middle), Oscoda CountyOrchard Lake, Lake CountyPettibone Lake, Newaygo CountyMuskrat Lake, Clinton CountyWyckoff Lake, Oceana CountyPickerel Lake, Grand Traverse CountyCarr Lake, Eaton CountyEberhard Lake, St. Joseph CountyFloyd Lake, Iosco CountySchoolhouse Lake, Oakland CountyBevins Lake, Oakland CountyBush Lake, Ogemaw CountyJackson Lake, Montmorency CountyStewart Lake, Oakland CountyCochran Lake, Cheboygan CountyHightower Lake, Oceana CountyGraham Lakes, Oakland CountyRainbow Lake, Kalkaska CountyLittle Tomahawk Lake, Presque Isle CountyTamarack Lake, Livingston CountySilver Lake, Washtenaw CountyCrystal Lake, Manistee CountyCedar Lake, Lapeer CountySpring Mill Pond, Livingston County

Recorded here Other lakes with fish records

How we know

  • 216lakes where an angler registered one (Master Angler)
  • 109lakes where a DNR fisheries survey netted them

A lake can appear in more than one line. A lake that isn’t listed may still have them: records exist only where someone caught, netted or stocked them.

Inland lakes on this list run from 8 to 19,592 acres (median 230) and from 3 to 175 ft deep (median 40 ft).

When and how big bullheads are caught

From 1,197 Master Angler entries, 1990–2025, from all Michigan waters including the Great Lakes. An entry needs a fish at least 14 in, so these describe big fish that anglers chose to register — where and when people fish, not how many fish a lake holds.

Entries by month

The busiest month is May (28% of entries); 2% come in December–February (lighter bars), mostly through the ice.

Size of registered fish

Half were 14.5 in or less, and 9 in 10 were under 15.6 in.

Method

Still Fishing70%
Spincasting19%
Trolling3%
Spearfishing3%
Drift Fishing2%

Bait

Worms and crawlers49%
Live bait (type not given)26%
Minnows and baitfish11%
Artificial lures5%
Cut bait and prepared baits4%
Other2%

Share of entries that recorded a method (1,143) or a bait (1,011).

Lakes on this site with the most entries

  1. Hamlin Lake, Mason 109
  2. Lake Cadillac, Wexford 70
  3. Hubbard Lake, Alcona 49
  4. Lake Mitchell, Wexford 34
  5. Baw Beese Lake, Hillsdale 30
  6. Saginaw Bay, Bay 27
  7. Milakokia Lake, Mackinac 19
  8. Nawakwa Lake, Alger 18
  9. Lake St. Clair, St. Clair 15
  10. Wixom Lake, Gladwin 13

Master Angler entries matched to each lake. A busy lake gets more entries; this is not a ranking of fishing quality.

Often found with

Share of these lakes that also list each fish.

How to recognize it

Whiskers (barbels) around the mouth, an adipose fin, and a tail that is square or only slightly notched. Most lake records say just “bullhead”, so this page covers all three species.

Telling the three apart

Brown bullhead — Black to yellowish-brown chin barbels, mottled sides, and saw-like barbs on the fin spines.
Yellow bullhead — White or yellow chin barbels, a rounded tail, and a long anal fin.
Black bullhead — Dark olive to black, gray or black barbels, and fin spines that are sharp but smooth.

Don’t confuse it with

Channel catfish — A deeply forked tail and speckled sides.

Up close

Illustration of a black bullhead's head from below, showing dark chin barbels and pectoral spines without large teeth on their back edge.
Black bullhead: dark chin barbels; the back edge of each pectoral spine has no large teeth.
Illustration of a brown bullhead's head from below, showing dark chin barbels, mottled brown edges and strong saw-like teeth on the back edge of each pectoral spine.
Brown bullhead: dark chin barbels; strong saw-like teeth on the back edge of each pectoral spine.
Illustration of a yellow bullhead's head from below, showing pale yellowish-white chin barbels and moderate teeth on the back edge of each pectoral spine.
Yellow bullhead: pale yellowish-white chin barbels; moderate teeth on the back edge of each pectoral spine.

AI-generated close-ups, not photographs, drawn from the cited descriptions. They show what to look for; they are not a substitute for an expert identification (provenance).

Life in a Michigan lake

Bullheads live in lakes, ponds and slow rivers, most often over soft bottoms with plenty of plants. They can thrive in murky water with little oxygen and eat almost anything — plants, insects, snails, fish eggs and fish.

They nest in mud, sand or gravel beside a log or other cover, and one or both parents fan and guard the eggs. The young hatch in about a week looking like tadpoles, and the parents shepherd the school until the fry are about 2 inches long. Brown bullheads mature at about 3 years and rarely live past 6–8.

Source: Michigan DNR species page.

Rules and eating

Check the rules before you keep fish. Each lake page shows the regulations that apply there, and the Michigan Fishing Guide is the official source. Before eating fish from a particular lake, check Michigan’s Eat Safe Fish guidelines.

All 288 lakes with bullheads

Show every lake, by county

Alcona County 3

Cedar Lake, Hubbard Lake, Jewell Lake

Alger County 3

Au Train Lake, Beaver Lake, Nawakwa Lake

Allegan County 6

Big Lake, Duck Lake, Eagle Lake, Miner Lake, Selkirk Lake, Upper Scott Lake

Alpena County 3

Beaver Lake, Fletcher Pond, Ninth Street Pond

Antrim County 2

Birch Lake, Scotts Lake

Baraga County 2

Beaufort Lake, Craig Lake

Barry County 5

Fish Lake, Gun Lake, Long Lake, Pine Lake, Thornapple Lake

Bay County 1

Saginaw Bay

Benzie County 1

Crystal Lake

Branch County 11

Coldwater Lake, George Lake, Gilead Lake, Lake Lavine, Lake of the Woods, Marble Lake, Morrison Lake, Morrison Lake, North Lake, Silver Lake, South Lake

Calhoun County 2

Goguac Lake, Wabascon Lake

Cass County 5

Belas Lake, Donnell Lake, Eagle Lake, Pleasant Lake, Saddlebag Lake

Charlevoix County 3

Font Lake, Lake Charlevoix, Walloon Lake

Cheboygan County 6

Black Lake, Burt Lake, Cochran Lake, Douglas Lake, Mullett Lake, Roberts Lake

Chippewa County 2

Frenchman Lake, Trout Lake

Clare County 5

Arnold Lake, Budd Lake, Cranberry Lake, Eight Point Lake, Sutherland Lake

Clinton County 2

Lake Ovid, Muskrat Lake

Crawford County 1

Lake Margrethe

Delta County 4

Big Bay de Noc, Chicago Lake, Little Bay de Noc, Round Lake

Dickinson County 2

Carney Lake, Lake Antoine

Eaton County 1

Carr Lake

Emmet County 3

Crooked Lake, Lake Paradise, Pickerel Lake

Genesee County 2

Lake Fenton, Lobdell Lake

Gladwin County 2

Ross Lake, Wixom Lake

Gogebic County 3

Cisco Lake, Clark Lake, Langford Lake

Grand Traverse County 4

Fife Lake, Long Lake, Pickerel Lake, Silver Lake

Hillsdale County 5

Baw Beese Lake, Bear Lake, Cub Lake, Hemlock Lake, Round Lake

Houghton County 3

Lake Roland, Pike Lake, Prickett Lake

Huron County 1

Wildfowl Bay

Ingham County 1

Lake Lansing

Ionia County 2

Long Lake, Morrison Lake

Iosco County 8

Floyd Lake, Jose Lake, Long Lake, Loon Lake, Sand Lake, Tawas Bay, Van Etten Lake, West Londo Lake

Iron County 1

Perch Lake

Isabella County 2

Coldwater Lake, Littlefield Lake

Jackson County 2

Clark Lake, Wamplers Lake

Kalamazoo County 5

Austin Lake, Gourdneck Lake, Gull Lake, Indian Lake, Long Lake

Kalkaska County 2

Long Lake, Rainbow Lake

Kent County 5

Angel Lake, Big Pine Island Lake, Murray Lake, Reeds Lake, Wabasis Lake

Keweenaw County 1

Lac La Belle

Lake County 2

Loon Lake, Orchard Lake

Lapeer County 6

Big Fish Lake, Cedar Lake, Davison Lake, Lake Minnawanna, Nepessing Lake, Otter Lake

Leelanau County 2

Glen Lake, Little Traverse Lake

Lenawee County 4

Devils Lake, Evans Lake, Lake Hudson, Silver Lake

Livingston County 8

Bennett Lake, Cedar Lake, East Crooked Lake, Lake Chemung, Spring Mill Pond, Tamarack Lake, Thompson Lake, Whitmore Lake

Luce County 5

Bass Lake, Bodi Lake, East Lake, East Twin Lake, Pike Lake

Mackinac County 3

Brevoort Lake, Manistique Lake, Milakokia Lake

Macomb County 1

Stony Creek Lake

Manistee County 5

Bear Lake, Chief Lake, Crystal Lake, Pine Lake, Portage Lake

Marquette County 3

Johnson Lake, Little Lake, Mehl Lake

Mason County 5

Ford Lake, Gun Lake, Hackert Lake, Hamlin Lake, Tallman Lake

Mecosta County 6

Chippewa Lake, Jehnsen Lake, Lake Mecosta, Martiny Lake, Merrill Lake, Round Lake

Midland County 1

Sanford Lake

Missaukee County 2

Crooked Lake, Lake Missaukee

Monroe County 1

Brest Bay

Montcalm County 6

Clifford Lake, Derby Lake, Dickerson Lake, Loon Lake, Townline Lake, Whitefish Lake

Montmorency County 8

Crooked Lake, Ess Lake, Grass Lake, Jackson Lake, Lake Fifteen, Long Lake, Rush Lake, West Twin Lake

Muskegon County 1

Muskegon Lake

Newaygo County 7

Bills Lake, Fremont Lake, Kimball Lake, Nichols Lake, Pettibone Lake, Pickerel Lake, Pickerel Lake

Oakland County 21

Bevins Lake, Bush Lake, Cass Lake, Cedar Island Lake, Graham Lakes, Heron Lake, Hubbell Pond, Kent Lake, Lake Sixteen, Long Lake, Long Lake, Loon Lake, Loon Lake, Middle Straits Lake, Orchard Lake, Schoolhouse Lake, Stewart Lake, Union Lake, Walled Lake, White Lake, Woodhull Lake

Oceana County 6

Crystal Lake, Hightower Lake, McLaren Lake, School Section Lake, Silver Lake, Wyckoff Lake

Ogemaw County 8

Au Sable Lake, Bush Lake, George Lake, Lake George, Peach Lake, Rifle Lake, Sage Lake, South Dease Lake

Ontonagon County 1

Sixmile Lake

Osceola County 1

Indian Lake

Oscoda County 2

McCollum Lake, Perry Lake (South and Middle)

Otsego County 4

Big Bear Lake, Big Lake, Emerald Lake, Otsego Lake

Ottawa County 1

Lake Macatawa

Presque Isle County 8

Grand Lake, Lake Augusta, Lake Emma, Lake May, Little Tomahawk Lake, Long Lake, Loon Lake, Ocqueoc Lake

Roscommon County 2

Houghton Lake, Marl Lake

Schoolcraft County 5

Big Island Lake, Indian Lake, McDonald Lake, Thunder Lake, Triangle Lake

St. Clair County 1

Lake St. Clair

St. Joseph County 5

Corey Lake, Eberhard Lake, Klinger Lake, Long Lake, Omena Lake

Tuscola County 1

Murphy Lake

Van Buren County 8

Clear Lake, Gravel Lake, Great Bear Lake, Maple Lake, Saddle Lake, Shafer Lake, Threemile Lake, Upper Jeptha Lake

Washtenaw County 12

Argo Pond, Bruin Lake, Cavanaugh Lake, Crooked Lake, Ford Lake, Geddes Pond, Halfmoon Lake, Iron Mill Pond, Joslin Lake, Silver Lake, Silver Lake, South Lake

Wayne County 1

Belleville Lake

Wexford County 3

Lake Cadillac, Lake Mitchell, Pleasant Lake

Sources

← All fish of Michigan