Michigan Lake Depths

Panfish · sunfish family

Pumpkinseed

Lepomis gibbosus · also called sunfish

Recorded in 431 Michigan lakes and bays
Illustration of a pumpkinseed in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Typical adult
6–8 in; some reach 10 in
Lives
5–6 years on average
Spawns
Nests in colonies from late May
Eats
Zooplankton when young; later insects, small fish and some plants
Michigan record
2 lb 2 oz, 12.6 in — Lake Nepessing, Lapeer County, 2009

Where pumpkinseed have been recorded

431 of the 1,288 Michigan lakes on this site with fish records list pumpkinseed, across 73 counties, including 3 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 CountyLake Gogebic, Ontonagon CountyManistique Lake, Mackinac CountyBlack Lake, Cheboygan CountyHiggins Lake, Roscommon CountyFletcher Pond, Alpena CountyIndian Lake, Schoolcraft CountyElk Lake, Antrim CountyGrand Lake, Presque Isle CountyLong Lake, Presque Isle CountyGlen Lake, Leelanau CountyHamlin Lake, Mason CountyWalloon Lake, Charlevoix CountyMuskegon Lake, Muskegon CountySouth Manistique Lake, Mackinac CountyDouglas Lake, Cheboygan CountyLong Lake, Grand Traverse CountyLake Skegemog, Kalkaska CountyGun Lake, Barry CountyPlatte Lake, Benzie CountyLake Mitchell, Wexford CountyCrooked Lake, Emmet CountyDuck Lake, Grand Traverse 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 CountyColdwater Lake, Branch CountyTawas Lake, Iosco 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 CountyAustin Lake, Kalamazoo CountyCedar Lake, Alcona CountyDiamond Lake, Cass CountyPickerel Lake, Emmet CountyThousand Island Lake, Gogebic CountyMcDonald Lake, Schoolcraft CountyKent Lake, Oakland CountyEast Lake, Mackinac CountyBig Star Lake, Lake CountyOtter Lake, Houghton CountyLake Fenton, Genesee CountyLittle Platte Lake, Benzie CountySage Lake, Ogemaw CountyOrchard Lake, Oakland CountyAu Train Lake, Alger CountyEast Twin Lake, Montmorency CountyKlinger Lake, St. Joseph CountyWamplers Lake, Jackson CountyChippewa Lake, Mecosta CountyLake Antoine, Dickinson CountyMuskallonge Lake, Luce CountyIndian Lake, Kalamazoo CountyCrystal Lake, Montcalm CountySilver Lake, Oceana CountyWycamp Lake, Emmet CountyPine Lake, Barry CountyPontiac Lake, Oakland CountyWalled Lake, Oakland CountyWhite Lake, Oakland CountyTrout Lake, Chippewa CountyOtter Lake, Oakland CountyLittle Traverse Lake, Leelanau CountySilver Lake, Grand Traverse CountyCrooked Lake, Gogebic CountyFrench Farm Lake, Emmet CountyClark Lake, Jackson CountyFife Lake, Grand Traverse CountyCisco Lake, Gogebic CountyWhitmore Lake, Livingston CountySunset Lake, Iron CountyLong Lake, Kalamazoo CountyVineyard Lake, Jackson CountyStony Creek Lake, Macomb CountyRound Lake, Lenawee CountyLake Thumb, Charlevoix CountyCrooked Lake, Missaukee CountyUnion Lake, Branch CountyDuck Lake, Calhoun CountyLake Orion, Oakland CountyWhitefish Lake, Montcalm CountyLong Lake, Iosco CountyLake Ann, Benzie CountySand Lake, Lenawee CountyMunro Lake, Cheboygan CountyLake Geneserath, Charlevoix CountyUnion Lake, Oakland CountyLake Lansing, Ingham CountyHorsehead Lake, Mecosta CountyLangford Lake, Gogebic CountyLittle Lake, Marquette CountySpider Lake, Grand Traverse CountyNawakwa Lake, Alger CountyLake Ovid, Clinton CountyNepessing Lake, Lapeer CountyBaw Beese Lake, Hillsdale CountyEight Point Lake, Clare CountyJordan Lake, Barry CountyLoon Lake, Iosco CountyCraig Lake, Baraga CountyWabasis Lake, Kent CountyArbutus Lake, Grand Traverse CountyEagle Lake, Cass CountyRose Lake, Osceola CountyPortage Lake, Jackson CountyBass Lake, Grand Traverse CountyWolf Lake, Jackson CountyLong Lake, Cheboygan CountyRound Lake, Emmet CountyLake Gerald, Houghton CountyGoguac Lake, Calhoun CountyLong Lake, Ionia CountyGrass Lake, Jackson CountyUpper Straits Lake, Oakland CountyFishers Lake, St. Joseph CountyMorrison Lake, Ionia CountyWiggins Lake, Gladwin CountyMiner Lake, Allegan CountyHaymarsh Lakes, Mecosta CountyFish Lake, Cass CountyLake Chemung, Livingston CountyPomeroy Lake, Gogebic CountyGrass Lake, Montmorency CountyBear Lake, Kalkaska CountyLake Stella, Alger CountyTamarack Lake, Montcalm CountyBirch Lake, Antrim CountyPickerel Lake, Newaygo CountyLong Lake, Barry CountyBodi Lake, Luce CountyBarton Pond, Washtenaw CountyDeer Lake, Charlevoix CountyMarion Lake, Gogebic CountyLake of the Woods, Van Buren CountyDuck Lake, Montcalm CountyTipsico Lake, Oakland CountyShavehead Lake, Cass CountyGravel Lake, Van Buren CountyJehnsen Lake, Mecosta CountyLong Lake, Montmorency CountyBoyles Creek, Clare CountyColdwater Lake, Isabella CountyTownline Lake, Montcalm CountyBass Lake, Marquette CountySquaw Lake, Marquette CountyPike Lake, Luce CountySouth Dease Lake, Ogemaw CountyAu Sable Lake, Ogemaw CountyLake Nettie, Presque Isle CountyOxbow Lake, Oakland CountyReeds Lake, Kent CountyMcLaren Lake, Oceana CountyDonnell Lake, Cass CountyThompson Lake, Livingston CountyLake Roland, Houghton CountyBass Lake, Chippewa CountySand Lake, Iosco CountyWinslow Lake, Iron CountyStrawberry Lake, Livingston CountyLake Sapphire, Missaukee CountyFourmile Lake, Washtenaw CountyHart Lake, Oceana CountyEagle Lake, Kalamazoo CountyLong Lake, Clare CountyLoon Lake, Oakland CountyRennie Lake, Grand Traverse CountyEast Crooked Lake, Livingston CountyRush Lake, Montmorency CountyClear Lake, St. Joseph CountyShamrock Lake, Oscoda CountyPeach Lake, Ogemaw CountyRoss Lake, Gladwin CountyGun Lake, Mason CountyDickerson Lake, Montcalm CountyLily Lake, Clare CountyHalfmoon Lake, Washtenaw CountyBig Pine Island Lake, Kent CountyLake Big Wolf, Montmorency CountyMcCollum Lake, Oscoda CountyGourdneck Lake, Kalamazoo CountyEagle Lake, Allegan CountyFarewell Lake, Jackson CountySilver Lake, Washtenaw CountyTea Lake, Oscoda CountyLong Lake, Lapeer CountyBig Lake, Osceola CountyParadise Lake, Cass CountyWitch Lake, Marquette CountySouth Lake, Washtenaw CountyBostwick Lake, Kent CountyWest Londo Lake, Iosco CountyLondo Lake, Iosco CountyBass Lake, Gogebic CountyBills Lake, Newaygo CountyJewell Lake, Alcona CountyIndian Lake, Iron CountyShag Lake, Marquette CountyChicago Lake, Delta CountyPratt Lake, Gladwin CountyJoslin Lake, Washtenaw CountyGeorge Lake, Ogemaw CountySchool Section Lake, Oceana CountyDiamond Lake, Newaygo CountyCampbell Lake, Oceana CountyMurphy Lake, Tuscola CountyRifle Lake, Ogemaw CountyMaple Lake, Van Buren CountyHardwood Lake, Ogemaw CountyGilbert Lake, Oceana CountyLake Manuka, Otsego CountyRainbow Lake, Montcalm CountyLong Lake, Oakland CountyBig Island Lake, Schoolcraft CountyNorth Dease Lake, Ogemaw CountyBudd Lake, Clare CountyLittle Brevoort Lake, Mackinac CountyCornwall Creek Floodin, Cheboygan CountyFish Lake, Barry CountyIron Mill Pond, Washtenaw CountyPine Lake, Manistee CountySwan Lake, Iron CountyRound Lake, Jackson CountyGreen Oak Lake, Livingston CountyBennett Lake, Livingston CountyStone Lake, Cass CountyBass Lake, Luce CountyPrairie River Lake, St. Joseph CountyThompson Lake, St. Joseph CountyLong Lake, Barry CountyBass Lake, Antrim CountyZukey Lake, Livingston CountySherman Lake, Kalamazoo CountyNichols Lake, Newaygo CountySugarloaf Lake, Kalamazoo CountyHermansville Lake, Menominee CountyGilead Lake, Branch CountyDuck Lake, Allegan CountyRobinson Lake, Newaygo CountyPleasant Lake, Wexford CountyClear Lake, Jackson CountyBig Lake, Otsego CountyGuthrie Lake, Otsego CountyYoungs Lake, Mecosta CountyEast Lake, Luce CountyBruin Lake, Washtenaw CountyPickerel Lake, Newaygo CountyMiddle Lake, Barry CountyWoodhull Lake, Oakland CountyClear Lake, Mecosta CountyColwell Lake, Schoolcraft CountyMorrison Lake, Branch CountyBird Lake, Hillsdale CountyGaylanta Lake, Montmorency CountyBig Lake, Baraga CountyBen-way Lake, Antrim CountyNowland Lake, Charlevoix CountyHi-Land Lake, Livingston CountyWelch Lake, Jackson CountyFinch Lake, Cass CountyHeron Lake, Oakland CountyLake Emma, Presque Isle CountyFive Lakes, Clare CountyHackert Lake, Mason CountyTwin Lake (east), Muskegon CountyChief Lake, Manistee CountyLake Marion, Charlevoix CountyCub Lake, Hillsdale CountyCowden Lake, Montcalm CountySylvan Lake, Newaygo CountyThayer Lake, Antrim CountyEllsworth Lake, Antrim CountyBush Lake, Oakland CountyEss Lake, Montmorency CountyCarney Lake, Dickinson CountyLong Lake, Oakland CountyCrapo Lake, Otsego CountySand Lake, Schoolcraft CountyLoon Lake, Lake CountyBoot Lake, Schoolcraft CountyPickerel Lake, Kalkaska CountyBig Fish Lake, Lapeer CountyLower Pettibone Lake, Oakland CountyBass Lake, Iron CountySaddlebag Lake, Cass CountySilver Lake, Oakland CountyWildwood Lake, Iron CountyWolf Lake, Marquette CountyEast Lake, Kalkaska CountyShupac Lake, Crawford CountyClam Lake, Antrim CountyLittle Wolf Lake, Montmorency CountyLake George, Ogemaw CountyNorth Lake, Alcona CountySelkirk Lake, Allegan CountyMerrill Lake, Mecosta CountyArgo Pond, Washtenaw CountyPike Lake, Houghton CountyBellows Lake, Grand Traverse CountyStone Ledge Lake, Wexford CountyBaptist Lake, Newaygo CountyCrystal Lake, Oceana CountyPike Lake, Marquette CountyMyers Lake, Kent CountyMeauwataka Lake, Wexford CountyLittle Bass Lake, Schoolcraft CountySouth Bar Lake, Leelanau CountyRound Lake, Hillsdale CountyBrower Lake, Kent CountyGrebe Lake, Ogemaw CountyJohnson Lake, Marquette CountyFox Lake, Charlevoix CountyLoon Lake, Oakland CountySporley Lake, Marquette CountyBass Lake, Marquette CountyShafer Lake, Van Buren CountyLong Lake, Barry CountyBig Bass Lake, Otsego CountyElk Lake, Gladwin CountyWabascon Lake, Calhoun CountyOtter Lake, Lapeer CountyRoberts Lake, Cheboygan CountyClear Lake, Van Buren CountyTwin Lake (west), Muskegon CountyIsland Lake, Ogemaw CountyLoon Lake, Montcalm CountyDeep Lake, Lenawee CountyCrooked Lake, Oakland CountyLake Shamrock, Clare CountySection One Lake, Crawford CountyLong Lake, Kalkaska CountyFennessy Lake, Ottawa CountyStony Lake, Oakland CountyLoon Lake, Clare CountyLake Minnawanna, Lapeer CountyClear/Squaw Lake, Oakland CountyDiamond Lake, Osceola CountyCecilia Lake, Lake CountyAppleton Lake, Livingston CountyHall Lake, Barry CountyCrooked Lake, Marquette CountySilver Lake, Clare CountyLittle Island Lake, Iosco CountyIndian Lake, Grand Traverse CountyGray Lake, Clare CountyDavison Lake, Lapeer CountyNorth Lake, Tuscola CountyBelas Lake, Cass CountyLong Lake, Kent CountySand Lake, Alger CountyBass Lake, Oscoda CountySeventh Spectacle Lake, Otsego CountyAngel Lake, Kent CountyLittle Lake Number One, Lake CountySand Lake, Lake CountySutherland Lake, Clare CountyPerry Lake (South and Middle), Oscoda CountyEngman Lake, Marquette CountyWells Lake, Osceola CountySwan Lake, Schoolcraft CountyOrchard Lake, Lake CountyLittle Myers Lake, Kent CountyAnderson Lake, Marquette CountyBeebe Lake, Clare CountyReed Lake, Lake CountyGifford Lake, Lake CountyDickinson Lake, Oakland CountyLeg Lake, Schoolcraft CountyKatherine Lake, Gogebic CountyJones Lake, Crawford CountyWyckoff Lake, Oceana CountyToad Lake, Antrim CountyRoland Lake, Baraga CountyTomahawk Lake, Presque Isle CountyFloyd Lake, Iosco CountyMarlbed Lake, Iosco CountyMaltby Lake, Livingston CountyFarmer Lake, Marquette CountyCobb Lake, Hillsdale CountyHerendeene Lake, Benzie CountyHalfmoon Lake, Alger CountyWaterbury Lake, Oakland CountySkidway Lake, Ogemaw CountyDavis Lake, Leelanau CountyShingle Lake, Clare CountyStewart Lake, Oakland CountyNorth Selkirk Lake, Kalkaska CountyChenango Lake, Livingston CountyPrince Lake, Oakland CountyCurtis Lake, Alcona CountyBear Lake, Crawford CountyGrass Lake, Otsego CountyBig Trout Lake, Marquette CountyBlack Lake, Oceana CountyLog Lake, Kalkaska CountyLance Lake, Cheboygan CountyLittle Stevens Lake, Delta CountyMiddle Lake, Barry CountyGraham Lakes, Oakland CountySand Lakes, Grand Traverse CountyGreen Lake, Antrim CountyWilliams Lake, Barry CountySpring Lake, Grand Traverse CountyBrockway Lake, Mecosta CountyHigh Banks Lake, Chippewa CountyStandard Lake, Charlevoix CountySilver Lake, Washtenaw CountyReid Lake, Alcona CountyTwin Lakes, Cheboygan CountyCedar Lake, Lapeer CountyCrystal Lake, Montmorency CountyThompson Lake, Alcona CountyCondon Lake, Newaygo CountySand Lakes, Grand Traverse CountyMcCarthy Lake, Lake County

Recorded here Other lakes with fish records

How we know

  • 372lakes where an angler registered one (Master Angler)
  • 117lakes where a DNR fisheries survey netted them
  • 7lakes the DNR has stocked with this fish; 3 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 11 to 19,592 acres (median 189) and from 3 to 192 ft deep (median 35 ft).

When and how big pumpkinseed are caught

From 2,166 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 May (25% of entries); 8% come in December–February (lighter bars), mostly through the ice.

Size of registered fish

Half were 9.2 in or less, and 9 in 10 were under 10.2 in.

Method

Still Fishing45%
Spincasting34%
Ice Fishing9%
Drift Fishing6%
Trolling4%

Bait

Live bait (type not given)40%
Worms and crawlers34%
Artificial lures12%
Wax worms and grubs5%
Combination4%
Leeches2%

Share of entries that recorded a method (2,039) or a bait (1,702).

Lakes on this site with the most entries

  1. Lake St. Clair, St. Clair 134
  2. Houghton Lake, Roscommon 123
  3. Pickerel Lake, Emmet 43
  4. Lake Mitchell, Wexford 42
  5. Kent Lake, Oakland 34
  6. Gun Lake, Barry 33
  7. Van Etten Lake, Iosco 33
  8. Bass Lake, Marquette 32
  9. Silver Lake, Grand Traverse 21
  10. Walled Lake, Oakland 21

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 dark, stiff ear flap tipped with a red spot, and aqua-blue lines running back from the mouth and nose. Often a bright orange belly, and a deeper body than a bluegill.

Don’t confuse it with

Bluegill — A solid black ear flap with no red spot, and a dark blotch at the rear of the dorsal fin.
Redear sunfish — A red or orange rim along the edge of the ear flap rather than a spot at its tip.
Hybrid sunfish — Pumpkinseed cross with other sunfish on shared spawning beds, and hybrids show mixed features.

Up close

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 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 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.
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.

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

Pumpkinseed use weed patches, sunken logs and docks for cover. They take small fish and minnows more readily than bluegill do, so their numbers thin themselves and they are less likely to be stunted.

Like bluegill they nest in colonies, starting in late May, often on the same spawning grounds — which is where sunfish sometimes hybridize. Males mature at 2–3 years and females at 3–4.

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 431 lakes with pumpkinseed

Show every lake, by county

Alpena County 1

Fletcher Pond

Bay County 1

Saginaw Bay

Clinton County 1

Lake Ovid

Dickinson County 2

Carney Lake, Lake Antoine

Genesee County 1

Lake Fenton

Ingham County 1

Lake Lansing

Ionia County 2

Long Lake, Morrison Lake

Isabella County 1

Coldwater Lake

Macomb County 1

Stony Creek Lake

Menominee County 1

Hermansville Lake

Midland County 1

Sanford Lake

Ontonagon County 1

Lake Gogebic

Ottawa County 1

Fennessy Lake

Roscommon County 2

Higgins Lake, Houghton Lake

St. Clair County 1

Lake St. Clair

Tuscola County 2

Murphy Lake, North Lake

Wayne County 1

Belleville Lake

Sources

← All fish of Michigan