Gilead Lake

Branch County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

40ft Max
depth

137 acres 5 contours Public access

Paddling Index50ModestMedium confidencerestricted hours · away from major roads · sheltered geometry

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Depth scale

0510203040

The lake

Survey readout

Gilead Lake is mapped to a depth of 40 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 137 acres in Branch County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 40 ft
Mean depth: 16.5 ft · estimated
Surface area: 137 acres
Estimated volume: 2,265 acre-ft · 738M gal
Shoreline: 3.38 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 8% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details5 contours

Contour depths: 0–40 ft
Recorded point soundings: 40 ft

44.1% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 43.2% is deeper than 20 ft; the survey shows 2 distinct basins. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Branch County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 20 lakes · tap a dot for that lake

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: 41.79566, -85.16379
MI DNR lake ID: L14367
Vertical exaggeration: 2.32×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.0 MB

Watercraft rules

county-enforced local controls · MI DNR

Restricted hourswhole lake, as mapped

Official rule details1 rule

Restricted hours“Hours for high-speed boating and water skiing”

Where the mapped control areas and the official regulation language differ, the language governs. Official county watercraft controls.

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21

50 / 100ModestData confidence: Medium

Gilead Lake has a substantially developed setting, generally sheltered geometry, limited nearby major-road exposure. Watercraft controls: Restricted hours.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Modest	3.7 of 35	25% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (14% forest, 11% wetland; 32% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Very Good	23.2 of 29	mean fetch 694 m · 15% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch
Watercraft controls	Restricted hours	10.9 of 18	Restricted hours
Public access	Not listed	—	No DNR-listed access site. Township, county and road-end launches are not in this source, so this is not evidence that access is poor — the component is excluded and the remaining weights are renormalized.
Road isolation	Very Good	12.6 of 18	limited nearby major-road exposure · 14 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 1,388 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 8% 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: Limited — 14% forest and 11% wetland cover within 150 m of shore

Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →

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 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

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

Smallmouth Bass

Bullhead

Black Crappie

Redear Sunfish

Yellow Perch

Bluegill

Rock Bass

Pumpkinseed

Green Sunfish

Historically stocked, no recent evidence: Rainbow Trout (last planted 2005) — not shown above.

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 9 species found here — 9 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.

Black CrappieOpen 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).

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).

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.

BullheadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

Green SunfishOpen 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).

PumpkinseedOpen 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).

Redear SunfishOpen 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).

Rock BassOpen 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).

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).

Yellow PerchOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland)

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 · 1994–2021

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.

18Catches recorded

5Species

Redear Sunfish13 recorded · to 11.5″ · latest 2021

Bluegill2 recorded · to 10.3″ · latest 2004

Bullhead1 recorded · to 16″ · latest 1995

Rock Bass1 recorded · to 11.2″ · latest 2003

Smallmouth Bass1 recorded · to 24″ · latest 1994

Biggest on record

Smallmouth Bass24″ · 1994 · spincasting · jitterbug

Bullhead16″ · 1995 · spincasting · plastic jig

Redear Sunfish11.5″ · 2000 · drift fishing · baby night crawler

Redear Sunfish11.5″ · 1996 · still fishing · nightcrawler

Rock Bass11.2″ · 2003 · drift fishing · night crawler

Bait: night crawler (4) · baby night crawler (3) · artificial lure (2) · worm (2)
Method: still fishing (8) · drift fishing (5) · spincasting (4) · ice fishing (1)

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

717Fish sampled

6Species

Panfish

Bluegill672 caught

Black Crappie10 caught

Pumpkinseed3 caught

Green Sunfish3 caught

Yellow Perch1 caught

Forage & nongame

Bullhead28 caught · to 16″

Stocking: Bluegills and largemouth bass were stocked in Gilead Lake in the late 1930s and mid-1940s.

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 · 1979–2005

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

Rainbow trout156,442 stocked · 1979–2005 · 27 plantings

Redear sunfish59,600 stocked · 1986–1995 · 4 plantings

No stockings recorded since 2005 — shown as history.

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

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.

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance

Wrozek's Bit & Tackle≈5.6 mi · (517) 858-1223107 E Chicago St, Bronson · Google · Apple

JJZ Lake Party Store LLC≈8.5 mi597 S Angola Rd, Coldwater · Google · Apple

Heinemann Taxidermy & Tannery≈12.1 mi90 W Garfield Ave, Coldwater · Google · Apple

Dealers licensed by the Michigan DNR to sell live bait; listing is not an endorsement. Distances are straight-line, not driving — and call ahead: hours and stock change. Source: Michigan DNR retail bait dealer data.

Quick answers

Gilead Lake — common questions

How deep is Gilead Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Gilead Lake is 40 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 Gilead Lake?

Gilead Lake covers about 137 acres in Branch County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Gilead Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Gilead Lake is 16.5 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Gilead Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include smallmouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, bullhead, green sunfish, pumpkinseed. The page lists all 9 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Gilead Lake?

Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 1 public access site on Gilead Lake, including Gilead Lake.