Michigan Lake Depths

Panfish · sunfish family

Green sunfish

Lepomis cyanellus · also called green

Recorded in 96 Michigan lakes and bays
Illustration of a green sunfish in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Spot it by
A large mouth for a sunfish
Tough
Tolerates cloudy water, silt, low oxygen and heat
Spawns
Colonies in a foot or less of water, from about 70°F
Eats
Insects, small fish, minnows and small crayfish
Michigan record
1 lb 8 oz, 10 in — Kirkwood Lake, Oakland County, 1990

Where green sunfish have been recorded

96 of the 1,288 Michigan lakes on this site with fish records list green sunfish, across 45 counties, including 2 Great Lakes bays. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

Saginaw Bay, Bay CountyLake St. Clair, St. Clair CountyBurt Lake, Cheboygan CountyMullett Lake, Cheboygan CountyMuskegon Lake, Muskegon CountyDouglas Lake, Cheboygan CountyDuck Lake, Grand Traverse CountyMartiny Lake, Mecosta CountyBear Lake, Manistee CountyLake Macatawa, Ottawa CountyColdwater Lake, Branch CountyVan Etten Lake, Iosco CountyBelleville Lake, Wayne CountySanford Lake, Midland CountyWixom Lake, Gladwin CountyMcDonald Lake, Schoolcraft CountyKent Lake, Oakland CountyBig Star Lake, Lake CountyPontiac Lake, Oakland CountyLittle Traverse Lake, Leelanau CountyClark Lake, Jackson CountyWhitmore Lake, Livingston CountyNorth Lake, Branch CountyStony Creek Lake, Macomb CountyLake Orion, Oakland CountyUnion Lake, Oakland CountyLake Lansing, Ingham CountyLakeville Lake, Oakland CountySpider Lake, Grand Traverse CountyNepessing Lake, Lapeer CountyLoon Lake, Iosco CountyWabasis Lake, Kent CountyEagle Lake, Cass CountyGoguac Lake, Calhoun CountyMorrison Lake, Ionia CountyLake Chemung, Livingston CountyGrass Lake, Montmorency CountyBodi Lake, Luce CountyShavehead Lake, Cass CountyMorrison Lake, Branch CountyColdwater Lake, Isabella CountyDonnell Lake, Cass CountySand Lake, Iosco CountyHart Lake, Oceana CountyPeach Lake, Ogemaw CountyRoss Lake, Gladwin CountyMcCollum Lake, Oscoda CountySilver Lake, Washtenaw CountySouth Lake, Branch CountyIndependence Lake, Washtenaw CountyCampbell Lake, Oceana CountyMurphy Lake, Tuscola CountyRainbow Lake, Montcalm CountyLong Lake, Oakland CountyBennett Lake, Livingston CountyZukey Lake, Livingston CountyVandercook Lake, Jackson CountyOcqueoc Lake, Presque Isle CountyGilead Lake, Branch CountyClear Lake, Jackson CountyBruin Lake, Washtenaw CountyMorrison Lake, Branch CountyHeron Lake, Oakland CountyCowden Lake, Montcalm CountyBush Lake, Oakland CountyCarney Lake, Dickinson CountyLong Lake, Oakland CountyBig Fish Lake, Lapeer CountySaddlebag Lake, Cass CountyLake Fifteen, Montmorency CountySelkirk Lake, Allegan CountyWoodbeck Lake, Kent CountyCampau Lake, Kent CountyRound Lake, Hillsdale CountyStearn's Bayou, Ottawa CountyOtter Lake, Lapeer CountyWoodard Lake, Ionia CountyHalf Moon Lake, Gratiot CountyClear Lake, Van Buren CountyLake Minnawanna, Lapeer CountyRobbins Lake, Cass CountyCrooked Lake, Marquette CountyCrooked Lake, Montmorency CountyDickinson Lake, Oakland CountyCusick Lake, Macomb CountyDollar Lake, Grand Traverse CountyTank Lake, Luce CountyEllsworth Lake, Washtenaw CountyDoe Lake, Alger CountyStewart Lake, Oakland CountyGraham Lakes, Oakland CountyAlderman Lake, Oakland CountySilver Lake, Washtenaw CountyHeadquarters Lake, Roscommon CountyCedar Lake, Lapeer CountyLake Linton, Saginaw County

Recorded here Other lakes with fish records

How we know

  • 44lakes where an angler registered one (Master Angler)
  • 57lakes 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 11 to 17,386 acres (median 191) and from 6 to 128 ft deep (median 40 ft).

When and how big green sunfish are caught

From 96 Master Angler entries, 1990–2025, from all Michigan waters including the Great Lakes. An entry needs a fish at least 9 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 June (27% of entries); 3% come in December–February (lighter bars), mostly through the ice.

Size of registered fish

Half were 9.5 in or less, and 9 in 10 were under 10.5 in.

Method

Spincasting54%
Still Fishing36%
Ice Fishing4%
Fly Fishing4%
Drift Fishing1%

Bait

Worms and crawlers39%
Live bait (type not given)28%
Artificial lures24%
Combination3%
Other3%
Flies1%

Share of entries that recorded a method (92) or a bait (75).

Lakes on this site with the most entries

  1. Wixom Lake, Gladwin 4
  2. Lake Chemung, Livingston 2
  3. Muskegon Lake, Muskegon 2
  4. Stony Creek Lake, Macomb 2
  5. Alderman Lake, Oakland 1
  6. Big Star Lake, Lake County 1
  7. Bodi Lake, Luce 1
  8. Campau Lake, Kent 1
  9. Campbell Lake, Oceana 1
  10. Cedar Lake, Lapeer 1

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 thick body and a large mouth for a sunfish — the upper jaw reaches to about the middle of the eye — short, rounded pectoral fins, and a black ear flap with a pale white or yellow edge. Blue-green with emerald and yellow streaks on the head.

Don’t confuse it with

Bluegill — A small mouth, long pointed pectoral fins and an ear flap that is black to the edge.
Rock bass — Red eyes and six spines on the anal fin.
Hybrid sunfish — Green sunfish often cross with bluegill; the one pictured is a bluegill × green sunfish.

Up close

Illustration of a green sunfish's head from the side, with a large mouth reaching below the middle of the eye, wavy blue-green cheek lines and a dark ear flap with a pale edge.
Green sunfish: a large mouth reaching below the middle of the eye; a dark ear flap with a pale edge; wavy blue-green cheek lines.
Illustration of a bluegill's head from the side, with a small mouth and a dark ear flap that is dark all the way to its edge.
Bluegill: a small mouth; the ear flap is dark right to its edge, with no colored rim.
Illustration of a pumpkinseed's head from the side, with wavy blue-green lines on the cheek and a bright red-orange spot on the tip of a short dark ear flap.
Pumpkinseed: a bright red-orange spot on the tip of a short dark ear flap; wavy blue-green lines on the cheek.
Illustration of a redear sunfish's head from the side, with a small mouth, a plain speckled cheek and a red crescent along the edge of the dark ear flap.
Redear sunfish: a red crescent along the edge of the dark ear flap; a small mouth; no wavy blue lines on the cheek.

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

Green sunfish thrive where other sunfish struggle: muddy creeks, weedy backwaters, shallow ponds. They are often the first fish to reach a new pond. Their big mouth lets them take larger prey than most sunfish.

They nest in colonies near shore, often right beside bluegill. Males guard small territories fiercely, and most green sunfish mature at 2 years.

Source: the sources below.

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 96 lakes with green sunfish

Show every lake, by county

Alger County 1

Doe Lake

Allegan County 1

Selkirk Lake

Bay County 1

Saginaw Bay

Branch County 6

Coldwater Lake, Gilead Lake, Morrison Lake, Morrison Lake, North Lake, South Lake

Calhoun County 1

Goguac Lake

Cass County 5

Donnell Lake, Eagle Lake, Robbins Lake, Saddlebag Lake, Shavehead Lake

Cheboygan County 3

Burt Lake, Douglas Lake, Mullett Lake

Dickinson County 1

Carney Lake

Gladwin County 2

Ross Lake, Wixom Lake

Grand Traverse County 3

Dollar Lake, Duck Lake, Spider Lake

Gratiot County 1

Half Moon Lake

Hillsdale County 1

Round Lake

Ingham County 1

Lake Lansing

Ionia County 2

Morrison Lake, Woodard Lake

Iosco County 3

Loon Lake, Sand Lake, Van Etten Lake

Isabella County 1

Coldwater Lake

Jackson County 3

Clark Lake, Clear Lake, Vandercook Lake

Kent County 3

Campau Lake, Wabasis Lake, Woodbeck Lake

Lake County 1

Big Star Lake

Lapeer County 5

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

Leelanau County 1

Little Traverse Lake

Livingston County 4

Bennett Lake, Lake Chemung, Whitmore Lake, Zukey Lake

Luce County 2

Bodi Lake, Tank Lake

Macomb County 2

Cusick Lake, Stony Creek Lake

Manistee County 1

Bear Lake

Marquette County 1

Crooked Lake

Mecosta County 1

Martiny Lake

Midland County 1

Sanford Lake

Montcalm County 2

Cowden Lake, Rainbow Lake

Montmorency County 3

Crooked Lake, Grass Lake, Lake Fifteen

Muskegon County 1

Muskegon Lake

Oakland County 13

Alderman Lake, Bush Lake, Dickinson Lake, Graham Lakes, Heron Lake, Kent Lake, Lake Orion, Lakeville Lake, Long Lake, Long Lake, Pontiac Lake, Stewart Lake, Union Lake

Oceana County 2

Campbell Lake, Hart Lake

Ogemaw County 1

Peach Lake

Oscoda County 1

McCollum Lake

Ottawa County 2

Lake Macatawa, Stearn's Bayou

Presque Isle County 1

Ocqueoc Lake

Roscommon County 1

Headquarters Lake

Saginaw County 1

Lake Linton

Schoolcraft County 1

McDonald Lake

St. Clair County 1

Lake St. Clair

Tuscola County 1

Murphy Lake

Van Buren County 1

Clear Lake

Washtenaw County 5

Bruin Lake, Ellsworth Lake, Independence Lake, Silver Lake, Silver Lake

Wayne County 1

Belleville Lake

Sources

← All fish of Michigan