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Hodenpyl Dam Pond

Wexford County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey
70ft Max
depth
1,734 acres 8 contours
Paddling Index50ModestMedium confidencewooded shoreline
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Hodenpyl Dam Pond is mapped to a depth of 70 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 1,734 acres in Wexford 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
70 ft
Mean depth
23 ft · estimated
Surface area
1,734 acres
Estimated volume
39,765 acre-ft · 12,958M gal
Shoreline
15.84 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation
8% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details8 contours
Contour depths
0–70 ft
Recorded point soundings
70 ft

17.6% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 57.2% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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
Wexford County, Michigan · all 10 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
44.37669, -85.78821
MI DNR lake ID
L14299
Vertical exaggeration
1.4×
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
2.4 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21
50 / 100ModestData confidence: Medium

Hodenpyl Dam Pond has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, notable open-water exposure, nearby higher-volume roads. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

ComponentRatingPoints of weightMeasurement
Natural settingVery Good27.7 of 3581% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (59% forest, 16% wetland; 8% developed)
Geometric wind exposureMixed8.0 of 29mean fetch 2,327 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · long fetch in some directions
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 isolationMixed5.2 of 18nearby higher-volume roads · 57 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 5,832 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
High — 59% forest and 16% 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, DNR surveys & active stocking

8 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
Channel Catfish
Walleye
Largemouth Bass
Smallmouth Bass
Crappie
Bluegill
Rock Bass

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 8 species found here — 8 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).
Channel CatfishOpen to harvestMinimum size: 12" · Daily limit: 10 (FO-215 · statewide inland)
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).
Channel CatfishOpen to harvestMinimum size: 12" · Daily limit: 10 (FO-215 · statewide inland)
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).
Largemouth 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).
Northern PikeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 24" · Daily limit: 2 (FO-215 · statewide inland)
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).
WalleyeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 15" · Daily limit: 5 (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 · 1995–2025

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.

27Catches recorded
8Species
Bluegill8 recorded · to 11.5″
Northern Pike6 recorded · to 44″
Largemouth Bass3 recorded · to 22.2″
Rock Bass3 recorded · to 12″
Catch details by species8 species
Bluegill8 recorded · to 11.5″ · latest 2025
Northern Pike6 recorded · to 44″ · latest 2024
Largemouth Bass3 recorded · to 22.2″ · latest 2025
Rock Bass3 recorded · to 12″ · latest 2021
Channel Catfish2 recorded · to 31″ · latest 2025
Crappie2 recorded · to 14″ · latest 2024
Smallmouth Bass2 recorded · to 22″ · latest 2015
Walleye1 recorded · to 32.5″ · latest 2006

Biggest on record

Northern Pike44″ · 1995 · ice fishing · tip up w/perch
Northern Pike43.5″ · 2001 · ice fishing · golden shiner
Northern Pike43″ · 2018 · still fishing · shrimp
Northern Pike39″ · 2023 · spincasting · artificial lure
Northern Pike37.2″ · 2024 · trolling · artificial lure

Bait: artificial lure (7) · live bait (3) · crawler (3)
Method: still fishing (11) · trolling (6) · spincasting (5) · ice fishing (3)

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 2011 · DNR SFR 2012-137
10Fish sampled
5Species

Gamefish

Northern Pike2 caught
Smallmouth Bass1 caught
Walleye1 caught

Panfish

Bluegill4 caught
Rock Bass2 caught
Stocking: After 1944, no fish were then stocked until 1962, when channel catfish were stocked for three successive year s.
This survey reported catch counts without lengths. Source: Michigan DNR Status of the Fishery Resource report (counts summed across survey years).

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1980–2025

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

Walleye834,311 stocked · 1980–2025 · 15 plantings
Channel catfish135,458 stocked · 1988–2009 · 8 plantings

Non-native species records

2 records

Plants & algae

  • Eurasian Watermilfoil
  • Forget-me-not
What does non-native mean?

USGS records identify non-native species that have been documented for this lake or its shoreline. Non-native does not necessarily mean invasive, and historical records do not confirm current presence.

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 · 15 mapped
🚿 Restrooms / vault toileton the lake · 8 mapped
🏖 Beach / swim areaon the lake
🎢 Playgroundon the lake
🥾 Hiking trailhead≈0.8 mi
🥪 Picnic areaon the lake
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
The Hodenpyle Dam Store≈0.5 mi10522 N Hodenpyle Dam Rd, Mesick · Google · Apple
Camp Mana Pine≈10.9 mi998 Emmons Rd, Wellston · Google · Apple
Wolfie's Fisherman's Headquarters≈13.2 mi17675 Caberfae Hwy, Wellstion · 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

Hodenpyl Dam Pond — common questions

How deep is Hodenpyl Dam Pond?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Hodenpyl Dam Pond is 70 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 Hodenpyl Dam Pond?

Hodenpyl Dam Pond covers about 1,734 acres in Wexford County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Hodenpyl Dam Pond?

The estimated mean depth of Hodenpyl Dam Pond is 23 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Hodenpyl Dam Pond?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include channel catfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, bluegill. The page lists all 8 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Hodenpyl Dam Pond?

No public launch for Hodenpyl Dam Pond 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.