Grand Sable Lake
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Depth scale
Survey readout
Grand Sable Lake is mapped to a depth of 85 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 646 acres in Alger 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
- 85 ft
- Mean depth
- 34.5 ft · estimated
- Surface area
- 646 acres
- Estimated volume
- 22,209 acre-ft · 7,237M gal
- Shoreline
- 6.15 mi · irregular
- Aquatic vegetation
- 1% of surface · NDVI estimate
- Public access
- No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details17 contours
- Contour depths
- 0–85 ft
- Recorded point soundings
- 85 ft
15.4% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 68.9% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.
Compare with another lakeProvenance
Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.
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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
- 46.63921, -86.04053
- MI DNR lake ID
- L28069
- Vertical exaggeration
- 1.4×
- Basemap
- USDA NAIP · public domain
- Model size
- 2.5 MB
Paddling
Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21Grand Sable Lake has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, moderate open-water exposure, limited nearby major-road exposure. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.
Why this score?5 components
Included in the index
| Component | Rating | Points of weight | Measurement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural setting | Very Good | 27.6 of 35 | 78% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (58% forest, 20% wetland; 4% developed) |
| Geometric wind exposure | Good | 8.9 of 29 | mean fetch 2,167 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · moderate open-water fetch |
| Watercraft controls | None identified | 8.8 of 18 | No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law. |
| 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 | 11.7 of 18 | limited nearby major-road exposure · 4 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 322 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 1% 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 20% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →
Fish you might catch
from angler catches, DNR surveys & active stocking10 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).
Northern Pike
Splake
White Sucker
Smallmouth Bass
Yellow Perch
Bluegill
Rock Bass
Rainbow Smelt
Golden Shiner
Spottail ShinerHistorically stocked, no recent evidence: Lake Trout (last planted 2005) — not shown above.
Fishing rules for this lake Beta
Size and daily limits for the 10 species found here — 9 open to harvest, 1 with a special rule or closed season.
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.
Official rule text for this lake
“protected slot limit on Northern Pike from 24 – 34 inches.” — FO-206
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
Notable catches
Master Angler program · 2017–2025Trophy-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.
Biggest on record
Bait: live bait (2) · artificial lure (1) · crawler (1)
Method: still fishing (3) · spincasting (2)
Fishery
Gamefish Northern Pike 43 · Smallmouth Bass 29
Panfish Rock Bass 252 · Yellow Perch 70
All survey species8 species
Gamefish
Panfish
Forage & nongame
DNR stocking
state stocking record · 1979–2005Fish the Michigan DNR has planted in this lake — what was added, distinct from what a survey netted above.
No stockings recorded since 2005 — 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.
Grand Sable Lake — common questions
How deep is Grand Sable Lake?
The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Grand Sable Lake is 85 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 Grand Sable Lake?
Grand Sable Lake covers about 646 acres in Alger County, Michigan.
What is the average depth of Grand Sable Lake?
The estimated mean depth of Grand Sable Lake is 34.5 ft, calculated from the survey contours.
What fish are in Grand Sable Lake?
Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include northern pike, smallmouth bass, splake, bluegill, rock bass, yellow perch. The page lists all 10 species and the evidence behind each.
Is there public access to Grand Sable Lake?
No public launch for Grand Sable Lake appears in the Michigan DNR access data. That is not the same as the lake being private -- municipal and private ramps are not in that source.
