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Gemini Lakes

Schoolcraft County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey
20ft Max
depth
119 acres 4 contours Public access
Paddling Index85Very Goodaway from major roads · sheltered geometry · wooded shoreline
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Gemini Lakes is mapped to a depth of 20 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 119 acres in Schoolcraft County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey (depths read from the survey's isobath field; this lake's summary-depth column is blank in the source).

Deepest mapped contour
20 ft
Mean depth
8.5 ft · estimated
Surface area
119 acres
Estimated volume
1,007 acre-ft · 328M gal
Shoreline
3.24 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation
5% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
Boat Launch
Additional depth details4 contours
Contour depths
0–20 ft
Recorded point soundings
20 ft

64% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 6.5% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Chart data

Provenance

Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.

⚠ Not for navigation

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Map details & sources5 sources

All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.

Survey-derived depth contours drape over USGS 3DEP elevation, with a USDA NAIP aerial basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Colour shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.

Coordinates
46.48887, -86.30589
MI DNR lake ID
L27747
Vertical exaggeration
3.0×
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
2.5 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21
85 / 100Very GoodData confidence: High

Gemini Lakes has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, well sheltered geometry, little nearby major-road exposure. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

ComponentRatingPoints of weightMeasurement
Natural settingExcellent25.7 of 3085% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (58% forest, 26% wetland; 6% developed)
Geometric wind exposureExcellent22.4 of 25mean fetch 554 m · 29% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controlsNone identified7.5 of 15No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public accessExcellent15.0 of 152 sites with DNR boating-facility records · carry-in launch · 1 ramp lane · 3 trailer spaces
Road isolationExcellent14.6 of 15relatively isolated from major roads · 6 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 133 vehicles/day

Additional paddling considerations

These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.

Wake sensitivity
Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
Aquatic vegetation
Low — approximately 5% mapped coverage · NAIP aerial imagery (NDVI)
Observed motorized activity
Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
Wildlife habitat potential
High — 58% forest and 26% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
How this index is calculated. The Paddling Index is a relative composite derived from lake geometry and public environmental, access, roadway and watercraft-control data. It is not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of an individual outing. Differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful — an 84 and an 82 are broadly comparable. Components and weights: natural setting 30%, geometric wind exposure 25%, watercraft controls 15%, public access 15%, road isolation 15%; observed motorboat activity is weighted 0% because no defensible lake-level measurement exists. Where a component has no data the remaining weights are renormalized and the confidence rating is lowered; below Medium confidence no number is shown. Sources: MI DNR Boating Access Sites (2026-08), MI DNR Watercraft Control Areas (2026-08), USGS/MRLC NLCD Land Cover (2021), MDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (2025) and MI DNR bathymetric survey outline (0 ft isobath). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from angler catches, DNR surveys & active stocking

7 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).

White Sucker
Smallmouth Bass
Bluegill
Golden Shiner
Bluntnose Minnow
Spottail Shiner
Iowa Darter

Historically stocked, no recent evidence: Walleye (last planted 2004) — not shown above.

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 7 species found here — 7 open to harvest.

These are hook-and-line size, daily limit and season rules. Gear, spearing and bow fishing, spawning closures and rod limits are set by other Fisheries Orders and are not shown here.

BluegillOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 25 is in any combination of the sunfishes — Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black and White Crappie, Rock Bass, Green, Longear and Redear Sunfish, Warmouth and hybrids — not 25 of each (FO-215.23A).
Bluntnose MinnowOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)
Beta. This panel is newly published. Every value is parsed from the Michigan DNR fisheries orders and hand-checked against the printed digest, but the coverage and wording are still under review. If anything here disagrees with the Michigan DNR's Fisheries Orders or its printed digest, the DNR is right — the signed Fisheries Order is the legal text; the digest summarises it.
BluegillOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 25 is in any combination of the sunfishes — Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black and White Crappie, Rock Bass, Green, Longear and Redear Sunfish, Warmouth and hybrids — not 25 of each (FO-215.23A).
Bluntnose MinnowOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)
Golden ShinerOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)
Iowa DarterOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)
Smallmouth BassOpen to harvestMinimum size: 14" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 5 is in any combination of Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, not 5 of each (FO-215.23A).
Spottail ShinerOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)
White SuckerOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

From FO-206.26 (eff. 2026-04-01) / FO-215.23A (eff. 2023-09-15) / FO-254.25 (eff. 2025-10-10), checked against the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations digest · verified 2026-08-24. Regulations can change — Michigan DNR rules are the controlling source; verify current regulations before fishing. Official regulations

Compiled from registered Master Angler catches, Michigan DNR fishery surveys and Michigan DNR stockings within the last 10 years. Silhouettes are stylized and scaled to typical adult sizes relative to one another. Presence is not a promise — fishing isn’t a sure thing.

Notable catches

Master Angler program · 2006–2025

Trophy-size fish anglers caught here and registered with the DNR — what people have actually caught, distinct from what a survey netted or the state stocked below.

5Catches recorded
2Species
Bluegill3 recorded · to 11.8″ · latest 2025
Smallmouth Bass2 recorded · to 21.5″ · latest 2016

Biggest on record

Smallmouth Bass21.5″ · 2006 · spincasting · perch
Smallmouth Bass21″ · 2016 · spincasting
Bluegill11.8″ · 2025 · still fishing · artificial lure
Bluegill11.4″ · 2025 · still fishing · live bait
Bluegill10″ · 2012 · still fishing · crawler

Bait: artificial lure (1) · live bait (1) · crawler (1)
Method: still fishing (3) · spincasting (2)

Master Angler entries are fish that met the program’s minimum size and were registered by the angler — they show what this lake has produced, not what a day here will produce. A catch on record is history, not a species listing: “Fish you might catch” lists only species with current evidence. Source: Michigan DNR Master Angler data.

Fishery

surveyed 2009 · DNR SFR 2012-133
86Fish sampled
5Species

Forage & nongame

White Sucker44 caught · to 22″
Bluntnose Minnow28 caught · to 3″
Golden Shiner10 caught · to 4″
Spottail Shiner3 caught · to 4″
Iowa Darter1 caught
Stocking: The DNR Fisheries Division file records indicate that Gemini Lakes was stocked with largemouth bass and bluegill in 1941.
Length is the largest fish netted in the survey, not an angler record. Source: Michigan DNR Status of the Fishery Resource report (counts summed across survey years).

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1992–2004

Fish the Michigan DNR has planted in this lake — what was added, distinct from what a survey netted above.

Walleye31,004 stocked · 1992–2004 · 8 plantings

No stockings recorded since 2004 — shown as history.

Non-native species records

No non-native species recorded in the available dataset. This does not confirm that no non-native species are present.

Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; underlying nonindigenous species records from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

At the lake

community-mapped amenities · straight-line distance
⛻ Campgroundon the lake · 2 mapped
From OpenStreetMap community mapping — shown only where something is mapped; an amenity missing here may still exist. Distances are straight-line. Verify before you rely on it. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Quick answers

Gemini Lakes — common questions

How deep is Gemini Lakes?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Gemini Lakes is 20 ft. That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.

How big is Gemini Lakes?

Gemini Lakes covers about 119 acres in Schoolcraft County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Gemini Lakes?

The estimated mean depth of Gemini Lakes is 8.5 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Gemini Lakes?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include smallmouth bass, bluegill, bluntnose minnow, golden shiner, iowa darter, spottail shiner. The page lists all 7 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Gemini Lakes?

Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 2 public access sites on Gemini Lakes, including South Gemini Lake Sfcg.