Michigan Lake Depths

Catfish family

Channel catfish

Ictalurus punctatus · also called catfish

Recorded in 146 Michigan lakes and bays
Illustration of a channel catfish in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Grows to
Often over 30 in and 10 lb in productive water
Lives
Over 15 years; some to 24
Matures
At 5–8 years
Spawns
Late spring–early summer, in dark hollows
Where
Most common in the southern Lower Peninsula
Michigan record
40 lb, 41.5 in — Houghton Lake, Roscommon County, 1964

Where channel catfish have been recorded

146 of the 1,288 Michigan lakes on this site with fish records list channel catfish, across 64 counties, including 8 Great Lakes bays. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

Saginaw Bay, Bay CountyLake St. Clair, St. Clair CountyGrand Traverse Bay, Grand Traverse CountyThunder Bay, Alpena CountyLittle Bay de Noc, Delta CountyWildfowl Bay, Huron CountyHoughton Lake, Roscommon CountyBurt Lake, Cheboygan CountyLake Charlevoix, Charlevoix CountyMullett Lake, Cheboygan CountyBrest Bay, Monroe CountyBlack Lake, Cheboygan CountyCrystal Lake, Benzie CountyTawas Bay, Iosco CountyElk Lake, Antrim CountyGrand Lake, Presque Isle CountyLong Lake, Presque Isle CountyGlen Lake, Leelanau CountyHamlin Lake, Mason CountyBrevoort Lake, Mackinac CountyMuskegon Lake, Muskegon CountyLake Skegemog, Kalkaska CountyGun Lake, Barry CountyPlatte Lake, Benzie CountyLake Mitchell, Wexford CountyPortage Lake, Manistee CountyLake Macatawa, Ottawa CountyHodenpyl Dam Pond, Wexford CountyVan Etten Lake, Iosco CountyDevils Lake, Lenawee CountyBelleville Lake, Wayne CountySanford Lake, Midland CountyWixom Lake, Gladwin CountyAustin Lake, Kalamazoo CountyCedar Lake, Alcona CountyFord Lake, Washtenaw CountyCenter Lake, Jackson CountyCrystal Lake, Montcalm CountySilver Lake, Oceana CountyBeaver Lake, Alpena CountyPine Lake, Barry CountyPontiac Lake, Oakland CountyMona Lake, Muskegon CountyWhite Lake, Oakland CountyLarks Lake, Emmet CountyStony Creek Lake, Macomb CountyUnion Lake, Branch CountyNinth Street Pond, Alpena CountyLong Lake, Iosco CountyLake Hudson, Lenawee CountyMunro Lake, Cheboygan CountyUnion Lake, Oakland CountyPalmer Lake, St. Joseph CountyLake Lansing, Ingham CountyLower Herring Lake, Benzie CountyLake Ovid, Clinton CountyNepessing Lake, Lapeer CountyBaw Beese Lake, Hillsdale CountyLong Lake, Ionia CountyFishers Lake, St. Joseph CountyWiggins Lake, Gladwin CountyBoardman Lake, Grand Traverse CountyMatteson Lake, Branch CountyBrooks Lake, Newaygo CountyBarton Pond, Washtenaw CountyTipsico Lake, Oakland CountyLong Lake, Montmorency CountyTownline Lake, Montcalm CountyStony Lake, Oceana CountyGeddes Pond, Washtenaw CountyOxbow Lake, Oakland CountyDonnell Lake, Cass CountySand Lake, Iosco CountyWoodland Lake, Livingston CountyLake Sapphire, Missaukee CountyHart Lake, Oceana CountyLong Lake, Clare CountyLoon Lake, Oakland CountyClear Lake, St. Joseph CountyRoss Lake, Gladwin CountyGun Lake, Mason CountyLong Lake, Lapeer CountyClifford Lake, Montcalm CountyFrenchman Lake, Chippewa CountyGeorge Lake, Ogemaw CountyMurphy Lake, Tuscola CountyPark Lake, Clinton CountyMiddle Straits Lake, Oakland CountyLittle Whitefish Lake, Montcalm CountyLong Lake, Gogebic CountyRainbow Lake, Montcalm CountyClark Lake, Luce CountyGreat Bear Lake, Van Buren CountyTriangle Lake, Schoolcraft CountyTurk Lake, Montcalm CountyHemlock Lake, Hillsdale CountyBass Lake, Antrim CountyZukey Lake, Livingston CountySugarloaf Lake, Kalamazoo CountyPleasant Lake, Wexford CountyClear Lake, Jackson CountySilver Lake, Lenawee CountyJose Lake, Iosco CountyMorrison Lake, Branch CountyWelch Lake, Jackson CountyNottawa Lake, Calhoun CountyPretty Lake, Mecosta CountyThayer Lake, Antrim CountyEss Lake, Montmorency CountyLeach Lake, Barry CountyLittle Wolf Lake, Jackson CountySand Lake, St. Joseph CountySixmile Lake, Dickinson CountyLake Fifteen, Montmorency CountyArgo Pond, Washtenaw CountyTownline Lake, Mecosta CountyTodd Lake, Osceola CountyLoon Lake, Oakland CountyLong Lake, Barry CountyChain Lakes, Iosco CountyHalls Lake, Isabella CountyOtter Lake, Lapeer CountyWhite Lake, Jackson CountySkinner Lake, Lapeer CountyAckley Lake, Van Buren CountyWebinguaw Lake, Newaygo CountySand Lake, Newaygo CountyHall Lake, Barry CountyNorth Lake, Tuscola CountyCamp Seven Lake, Delta CountySutherland Lake, Clare CountyBertha Lake, Clare CountySpring Lake, Grand Traverse CountyFloyd Lake, Iosco CountyCobb Lake, Hillsdale CountyHalfmoon Lake, Alger CountyRansom Lake, Newaygo CountyTownline Lake, Clare CountyHavens Lake, St. Joseph CountyRuppert Lake, Kalamazoo CountyFish Lake, Lapeer CountyMcCoy Lake, Osceola CountyCrystal Lake, Manistee CountyCedar Lake, Lapeer CountyChain of Lakes, Marquette CountyRobbins Pond, Ontonagon County

Recorded here Other lakes with fish records

How we know

  • 112lakes where an angler registered one (Master Angler)
  • 19lakes where a DNR fisheries survey netted them
  • 53lakes the DNR has stocked with this fish; 27 of them are listed on stocking alone, because these fish keep breeding once established

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 5 to 19,592 acres (median 239) and from 5 to 192 ft deep (median 30 ft).

When and how big channel catfish are caught

From 2,582 Master Angler entries, 1960–2025, from all Michigan waters including the Great Lakes. An entry needs a fish at least 30 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 July (20% of entries); 1% come in December–February (lighter bars), mostly through the ice.

Size of registered fish

Half were 30.2 in or less, and 9 in 10 were under 33.2 in.

Method

Still Fishing59%
Spincasting18%
Trolling14%
Drift Fishing6%
Ice Fishing1%

Bait

Worms and crawlers32%
Minnows and baitfish21%
Live bait (type not given)19%
Cut bait and prepared baits14%
Artificial lures5%
Combination3%

Share of entries that recorded a method (2,471) or a bait (2,020).

Lakes on this site with the most entries

  1. Lake St. Clair, St. Clair 338
  2. Saginaw Bay, Bay 313
  3. Lake Macatawa, Ottawa 62
  4. Muskegon Lake, Muskegon 53
  5. Hamlin Lake, Mason 41
  6. Lake Ovid, Clinton 31
  7. Van Etten Lake, Iosco 29
  8. Wixom Lake, Gladwin 25
  9. Sanford Lake, Midland 24
  10. Stony Creek Lake, Macomb 20

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

A deeply forked tail, whiskers (barbels) around the mouth, an adipose fin, and a slender body with speckled sides.

Don’t confuse it with

Bullheads — Square or only slightly notched tails, not deeply forked.

Life in a Michigan lake

Channel catfish live in inland lakes, medium to large rivers and every Great Lake except Superior. Adults hide by day in deep holes with logs or rocks and move into shallow water at night. They are predators that hunt largely by scent, using their barbels.

Males build nests in dark, sheltered spots — undercut banks, log jams, rock piles — and guard the eggs, which hatch in 5–10 days, and the fry for about a week after.

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 146 lakes with channel catfish

Show every lake, by county

Alcona County 1

Cedar Lake

Alger County 1

Halfmoon Lake

Alpena County 3

Beaver Lake, Ninth Street Pond, Thunder Bay

Antrim County 3

Bass Lake, Elk Lake, Thayer Lake

Barry County 5

Gun Lake, Hall Lake, Leach Lake, Long Lake, Pine Lake

Bay County 1

Saginaw Bay

Benzie County 3

Crystal Lake, Lower Herring Lake, Platte Lake

Branch County 3

Matteson Lake, Morrison Lake, Union Lake

Calhoun County 1

Nottawa Lake

Cass County 1

Donnell Lake

Charlevoix County 1

Lake Charlevoix

Cheboygan County 4

Black Lake, Burt Lake, Mullett Lake, Munro Lake

Chippewa County 1

Frenchman Lake

Clare County 4

Bertha Lake, Long Lake, Sutherland Lake, Townline Lake

Clinton County 2

Lake Ovid, Park Lake

Delta County 2

Camp Seven Lake, Little Bay de Noc

Dickinson County 1

Sixmile Lake

Emmet County 1

Larks Lake

Gladwin County 3

Ross Lake, Wiggins Lake, Wixom Lake

Gogebic County 1

Long Lake

Grand Traverse County 3

Boardman Lake, Grand Traverse Bay, Spring Lake

Hillsdale County 3

Baw Beese Lake, Cobb Lake, Hemlock Lake

Huron County 1

Wildfowl Bay

Ingham County 1

Lake Lansing

Ionia County 1

Long Lake

Iosco County 7

Chain Lakes, Floyd Lake, Jose Lake, Long Lake, Sand Lake, Tawas Bay, Van Etten Lake

Isabella County 1

Halls Lake

Jackson County 5

Center Lake, Clear Lake, Little Wolf Lake, Welch Lake, White Lake

Kalamazoo County 3

Austin Lake, Ruppert Lake, Sugarloaf Lake

Kalkaska County 1

Lake Skegemog

Lapeer County 6

Cedar Lake, Fish Lake, Long Lake, Nepessing Lake, Otter Lake, Skinner Lake

Leelanau County 1

Glen Lake

Lenawee County 3

Devils Lake, Lake Hudson, Silver Lake

Livingston County 2

Woodland Lake, Zukey Lake

Luce County 1

Clark Lake

Mackinac County 1

Brevoort Lake

Macomb County 1

Stony Creek Lake

Manistee County 2

Crystal Lake, Portage Lake

Marquette County 1

Chain of Lakes

Mason County 2

Gun Lake, Hamlin Lake

Mecosta County 2

Pretty Lake, Townline Lake

Midland County 1

Sanford Lake

Missaukee County 1

Lake Sapphire

Monroe County 1

Brest Bay

Montcalm County 6

Clifford Lake, Crystal Lake, Little Whitefish Lake, Rainbow Lake, Townline Lake, Turk Lake

Montmorency County 3

Ess Lake, Lake Fifteen, Long Lake

Muskegon County 2

Mona Lake, Muskegon Lake

Newaygo County 4

Brooks Lake, Ransom Lake, Sand Lake, Webinguaw Lake

Oakland County 8

Loon Lake, Loon Lake, Middle Straits Lake, Oxbow Lake, Pontiac Lake, Tipsico Lake, Union Lake, White Lake

Oceana County 3

Hart Lake, Silver Lake, Stony Lake

Ogemaw County 1

George Lake

Ontonagon County 1

Robbins Pond

Osceola County 2

McCoy Lake, Todd Lake

Ottawa County 1

Lake Macatawa

Presque Isle County 2

Grand Lake, Long Lake

Roscommon County 1

Houghton Lake

Schoolcraft County 1

Triangle Lake

St. Clair County 1

Lake St. Clair

St. Joseph County 5

Clear Lake, Fishers Lake, Havens Lake, Palmer Lake, Sand Lake

Tuscola County 2

Murphy Lake, North Lake

Van Buren County 2

Ackley Lake, Great Bear Lake

Washtenaw County 4

Argo Pond, Barton Pond, Ford Lake, Geddes Pond

Wayne County 1

Belleville Lake

Wexford County 3

Hodenpyl Dam Pond, Lake Mitchell, Pleasant Lake

Sources

← All fish of Michigan