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Haymarsh Lakes

Mecosta County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey
25ft Max
depth
336 acres 7 contours Public access 70% weedy
Paddling Index69MixedMedium confidencewooded shoreline · sheltered geometry
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Haymarsh Lakes is mapped to a depth of 25 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 336 acres in Mecosta 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 sounding
25 ft
Mean depth
3.8 ft · estimated
Surface area
336 acres
Estimated volume
1,260 acre-ft · 410M gal
Shoreline
4.88 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation
70% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
Boat Launch
Additional depth details7 contours
Contour depths
0–25 ft
Recorded point soundings
25 ft, 21 ft, 20 ft, 20 ft, 20 ft, 18 ft

92.7% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Chart data

Provenance

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
43.75258, -85.35079
MI DNR lake ID
L19380
Vertical exaggeration
2.83×
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
2.4 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21
69 / 100MixedData confidence: Medium

Haymarsh Lakes has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, generally sheltered geometry, some nearby classified roads. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

ComponentRatingPoints of weightMeasurement
Natural settingExcellent31.0 of 3587% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (56% forest, 26% wetland; 6% developed)
Geometric wind exposureVery Good20.1 of 29mean fetch 875 m · 8% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch
Watercraft controlsNone identified8.8 of 18No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public accessNot listedNo 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 isolationGood9.0 of 18some nearby classified roads · 13 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 636 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
High — approximately 70% 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 — 56% 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 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

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

Bowfin
Crappie
Bluegill
Pumpkinseed

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 4 species found here — 4 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).
BowfinOpen 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).
BowfinOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)
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).
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).
Official rule text for this lake
“no size limit on Northern Pike and up to five (5) Northern Pike may be retained in the daily possession limit with only one (1) 24-inches or greater.” — 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

Compiled from registered Master Angler catches. 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 · 2003–2024

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.

8Catches recorded
4Species
Pumpkinseed3 recorded · to 9.1″ · latest 2024
Bluegill2 recorded · to 10.8″ · latest 2021
Bowfin2 recorded · to 28″ · latest 2015
Crappie1 recorded · to 15″ · latest 2024

Biggest on record

Bowfin28″ · 2003 · still fishing · live shiner
Bowfin27″ · 2015 · spincasting
Crappie15″ · 2024 · ice fishing · live bait
Bluegill10.8″ · 2021 · spincasting · artificial lure
Bluegill10.1″ · 2020

Bait: live bait (3) · artificial lure (2)
Method: spincasting (4) · still fishing (2) · 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.

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
⛻ Campground≈1.0 mi
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).

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance
East Bay General Store≈3.3 mi · (231) 867-561919961 E Chippewa Dr, Chippewa Lake · Google · Apple
Paris Archery≈7.9 mi21820 Northland Dr, Pairs · Google · Apple
The Kountry Store LLC≈8.6 mi · (231) 832-7093660 N Main St, Hersey · 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

Haymarsh Lakes — common questions

How deep is Haymarsh Lakes?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Haymarsh Lakes is 25 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 Haymarsh Lakes?

Haymarsh Lakes covers about 336 acres in Mecosta County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Haymarsh Lakes?

The estimated mean depth of Haymarsh Lakes is 3.8 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Haymarsh Lakes?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include bluegill, bowfin, crappie, pumpkinseed. The page shows the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Haymarsh Lakes?

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