Michigan Lake Depths

Ancient fish · gar family

Longnose gar

Lepisosteus osseus · also called gar-pike, needlenose gar

Recorded in 108 Michigan lakes and bays
Illustration of a longnose gar in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Grows to
Up to about 6.5 ft; females larger than males
Breathes air
Gulps air into its swim bladder
Spawns
Mid-April to May, when water reaches about 68°F
Eats
Mostly small fish, taken in ambush
Warning
Gar eggs are toxic to people
Michigan record
18 lb, 53 in — Williamsville Lake, Livingston County, 1995

Where longnose gar have been recorded

108 of the 1,288 Michigan lakes on this site with fish records list longnose gar, across 38 counties, including 4 Great Lakes bays. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

Saginaw Bay, Bay CountyLake St. Clair, St. Clair CountyLittle Bay de Noc, Delta CountyHoughton Lake, Roscommon CountyBurt Lake, Cheboygan CountyLake Charlevoix, Charlevoix CountyMullett Lake, Cheboygan CountyBrest Bay, Monroe CountyBlack Lake, Cheboygan CountyHiggins Lake, Roscommon CountyHubbard Lake, Alcona CountyElk Lake, Antrim CountyGrand Lake, Presque Isle CountyLake Leelanau, Leelanau CountyHamlin Lake, Mason CountyMuskegon Lake, Muskegon CountyLake Skegemog, Kalkaska CountyGun Lake, Barry CountyPlatte Lake, Benzie CountyCrooked Lake, Emmet CountyDuck Lake, Grand Traverse CountyPortage Lake, Manistee CountyMartiny Lake, Mecosta CountyGull Lake, Kalamazoo CountyGreen Lake, Grand Traverse CountyLake Bellaire, Antrim CountyColdwater Lake, Branch CountyTawas Lake, Iosco CountyBelleville Lake, Wayne CountyCass Lake, Oakland CountyAustin Lake, Kalamazoo CountyPickerel Lake, Emmet CountyKent Lake, Oakland CountyFord Lake, Washtenaw CountyPaw Paw Lake, Berrien CountyLittle Platte Lake, Benzie CountySage Lake, Ogemaw CountyOrchard Lake, Oakland CountyMarble Lake, Branch CountyChippewa Lake, Mecosta CountyIndian Lake, Kalamazoo CountyUpper Herring Lake, Benzie CountyNorth Lake, Branch CountyDuck Lake, Calhoun CountyWhitefish Lake, Montcalm CountyUnion Lake, Oakland CountyLower Herring Lake, Benzie CountyLincoln Lake, Kent CountyBass Lake, Mason CountyBaw Beese Lake, Hillsdale CountyJordan Lake, Barry CountyWabasis Lake, Kent CountyThornapple Lake, Barry CountyLake of the Woods, Branch CountyLong Lake, Ionia CountySouth Commerce Lake, Oakland CountyMurray Lake, Kent CountyBirch Lake, Antrim CountyMorrison Lake, Branch CountyLake Oakland, Oakland CountyStony Lake, Oceana CountyGeddes Pond, Washtenaw CountyDonnell Lake, Cass CountyStrawberry Lake, Livingston CountyFourmile Lake, Washtenaw CountyLower Straits Lake, Oakland CountyMarl Lake, Roscommon CountyDickerson Lake, Montcalm CountyHalfmoon Lake, Washtenaw CountyGourdneck Lake, Kalamazoo CountyCavanaugh Lake, Washtenaw CountySilver Lake, Branch CountySouth Lake, Washtenaw CountySouth Lake, Branch CountyJoslin Lake, Washtenaw CountyMiddle Straits Lake, Oakland CountyLittle Whitefish Lake, Montcalm CountyGreen Lake, Oakland CountyFish Lake, Barry CountyPatterson Lake, Livingston CountyRound Lake, Jackson CountyBennett Lake, Livingston CountyHemlock Lake, Hillsdale CountyCedar Island Lake, Oakland CountySugarloaf Lake, Kalamazoo CountyVandercook Lake, Jackson CountyLittle Fish Lake, Cass CountyBruin Lake, Washtenaw CountyLee Lake, Calhoun CountyPaw Paw Lake, Kalamazoo CountyDeer Lake, Oakland CountyMorrison Lake, Branch CountyFinch Lake, Cass CountyPayne Lake, Barry CountyBush Lake, Oakland CountyLower Pettibone Lake, Oakland CountySaddlebag Lake, Cass CountyArgo Pond, Washtenaw CountyHogset Lake, Kalamazoo CountyWilliamsville Lake, Livingston CountyWoodburn Lake, Livingston CountyNo Name, Washtenaw CountyIndian Lake, Grand Traverse CountyGrey Lake, St. Joseph CountyTonawanda Lake, Grand Traverse CountyMarl Lakes, St. Joseph CountyMohawk Lake, Oakland CountyBridge Lake, Oakland County

Recorded here Other lakes with fish records

How we know

  • 93lakes where an angler registered one (Master Angler)
  • 31lakes 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 21 to 19,592 acres (median 316) and from 4 to 192 ft deep (median 50 ft).

When and how big longnose gar are caught

From 853 Master Angler entries, 1994–2025, from all Michigan waters including the Great Lakes. An entry needs a fish at least 32 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 (29% of entries); 2% come in December–February (lighter bars), mostly through the ice.

Size of registered fish

Half were 39 in or less, and 9 in 10 were under 45 in.

Method

Bowfishing39%
Spincasting26%
Still Fishing17%
Spearfishing12%
Trolling5%

Bait

Minnows and baitfish35%
Live bait (type not given)23%
Artificial lures22%
Cut bait and prepared baits10%
Worms and crawlers4%
Other4%

Share of entries that recorded a method (817) or a bait (257).

Lakes on this site with the most entries

  1. Muskegon Lake, Muskegon 127
  2. Saginaw Bay, Bay 61
  3. Wabasis Lake, Kent 28
  4. Baw Beese Lake, Hillsdale 25
  5. Gun Lake, Barry 25
  6. Lake St. Clair, St. Clair 25
  7. Lincoln Lake, Kent 18
  8. Kent Lake, Oakland 17
  9. Platte Lake, Benzie 12
  10. Silver Lake, Branch 10

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 long, narrow snout more than twice the length of the rest of the head, packed with sharp teeth, and a body armoured in hard, diamond-shaped scales. Olive-brown above and white below, with dark spots on the tail and fins.

Don’t confuse it with

Spotted gar — A shorter snout and dark spots over the head, body and all fins. A species of special concern in Michigan.
Northern pike — A duck-bill snout rather than a needle, and ordinary scales.

Life in a Michigan lake

Gar lie still near the surface and ambush passing fish, which they swallow head first. A primitive swim bladder lets them breathe air, so they survive in warm, low-oxygen water and even out of water for hours if kept moist.

Longnose gar spawn over gravel along windswept shores and rocky points. The eggs hatch in about 8 days, and the fry hang from objects by an adhesive pad until their yolk is used up. Males mature at 2–3 years and females at 3–4; some live to 18.

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 108 lakes with longnose gar

Show every lake, by county

Alcona County 1

Hubbard Lake

Antrim County 3

Birch Lake, Elk Lake, Lake Bellaire

Barry County 5

Fish Lake, Gun Lake, Jordan Lake, Payne Lake, Thornapple Lake

Bay County 1

Saginaw Bay

Benzie County 4

Little Platte Lake, Lower Herring Lake, Platte Lake, Upper Herring Lake

Berrien County 1

Paw Paw Lake

Branch County 8

Coldwater Lake, Lake of the Woods, Marble Lake, Morrison Lake, Morrison Lake, North Lake, Silver Lake, South Lake

Calhoun County 2

Duck Lake, Lee Lake

Cass County 4

Donnell Lake, Finch Lake, Little Fish Lake, Saddlebag Lake

Charlevoix County 1

Lake Charlevoix

Cheboygan County 3

Black Lake, Burt Lake, Mullett Lake

Delta County 1

Little Bay de Noc

Emmet County 2

Crooked Lake, Pickerel Lake

Grand Traverse County 4

Duck Lake, Green Lake, Indian Lake, Tonawanda Lake

Hillsdale County 2

Baw Beese Lake, Hemlock Lake

Ionia County 1

Long Lake

Iosco County 1

Tawas Lake

Jackson County 2

Round Lake, Vandercook Lake

Kalamazoo County 7

Austin Lake, Gourdneck Lake, Gull Lake, Hogset Lake, Indian Lake, Paw Paw Lake, Sugarloaf Lake

Kalkaska County 1

Lake Skegemog

Kent County 3

Lincoln Lake, Murray Lake, Wabasis Lake

Leelanau County 1

Lake Leelanau

Livingston County 5

Bennett Lake, Patterson Lake, Strawberry Lake, Williamsville Lake, Woodburn Lake

Manistee County 1

Portage Lake

Mason County 2

Bass Lake, Hamlin Lake

Mecosta County 2

Chippewa Lake, Martiny Lake

Monroe County 1

Brest Bay

Montcalm County 3

Dickerson Lake, Little Whitefish Lake, Whitefish Lake

Muskegon County 1

Muskegon Lake

Oakland County 15

Bridge Lake, Bush Lake, Cass Lake, Cedar Island Lake, Deer Lake, Green Lake, Kent Lake, Lake Oakland, Lower Pettibone Lake, Lower Straits Lake, Middle Straits Lake, Mohawk Lake, Orchard Lake, South Commerce Lake, Union Lake

Oceana County 1

Stony Lake

Ogemaw County 1

Sage Lake

Presque Isle County 1

Grand Lake

Roscommon County 3

Higgins Lake, Houghton Lake, Marl Lake

St. Clair County 1

Lake St. Clair

St. Joseph County 2

Grey Lake, Marl Lakes

Washtenaw County 10

Argo Pond, Bruin Lake, Cavanaugh Lake, Ford Lake, Fourmile Lake, Geddes Pond, Halfmoon Lake, Joslin Lake, No Name, South Lake

Wayne County 1

Belleville Lake

Sources

← All fish of Michigan