Horseshoe Lake

Ogemaw County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

32ft Max
depth

35 acres 6 contours Public access

Paddling Index83Very Goodsheltered geometry · whole-lake slow-no-wake · away from major roads

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Depth scale

051015202532

The lake

Survey readout

Horseshoe Lake is mapped to a depth of 32 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 35 acres in Ogemaw County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding: 32 ft
Mean depth: 9.4 ft · estimated
Surface area: 35 acres
Estimated volume: 333 acre-ft · 108M gal
Shoreline: 1 mi · round
Aquatic vegetation: 5% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details6 contours

Contour depths: 0–32 ft
Recorded point soundings: 32 ft, 25 ft

55.9% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 9% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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

Ogemaw County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 51 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: 44.41589, -84.28017
MI DNR lake ID: L1238
Vertical exaggeration: 2.59×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 1.8 MB

Watercraft rules

county-enforced local controls · MI DNR

Slow — no wakewhole lake, as mapped

Official rule details1 rule

Slow — no wake“Slow-- no wake speed”

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

83 / 100Very GoodData confidence: High

Horseshoe Lake has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, well sheltered geometry, limited nearby major-road exposure. Watercraft controls: Whole-lake slow-no-wake.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Very Good	19.3 of 30	72% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (66% forest, 3% wetland; 19% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	25.0 of 25	mean fetch 376 m · 100% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controls	Whole-lake slow-no-wake	13.8 of 15	Slow — no wake
Public access	Excellent	15.0 of 15	1 site with DNR boating-facility records · carry-in launch
Road isolation	Very Good	10.3 of 15	limited nearby major-road exposure · 7 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 1,142 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: Moderate — 66% forest and 3% 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 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

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).

Northern Pike

Largemouth Bass

Black Crappie

Crappie

Yellow Perch

Bluegill

Rock Bass

Hybrid Sunfish

Sunfish

Historically stocked, no recent evidence: Rainbow Trout (last planted 1990) — 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.

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).

Hybrid 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).

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).

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).

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 · 2018–2025

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.

7Catches recorded

4Species

Bluegill3 recorded · to 10.5″ · latest 2025

Crappie2 recorded · to 14.1″ · latest 2021

Hybrid Sunfish1 recorded · to 10.6″ · latest 2025

Largemouth Bass1 recorded · to 21.6″ · latest 2024

Biggest on record

Largemouth Bass21.6″ · 2024 · spincasting · artificial lure

Crappie14.1″ · 2021

Crappie14.1″ · 2020

Hybrid Sunfish10.6″ · 2025 · still fishing · live bait

Bluegill10.5″ · 2018 · drift fishing · worm

Bait: live bait (2) · artificial lure (2) · worm (1)
Method: still fishing (2) · spincasting (2) · drift 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

surveyed 2009 · DNR SFR 2016-225

211Fish sampled

7Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 51 · Northern Pike 8

Panfish Bluegill 41 · Rock Bass 30 · Black Crappie 23

All survey species7 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass51 caught · to 18″

Northern Pike8 caught · to 35″

Panfish

Bluegill41 caught · to 6″

Rock Bass30 caught · to 7″

Black Crappie23 caught · to 13″

Yellow Perch3 caught · to 9″

Forage & nongame

Sunfish55 caught · to 8″

Stocking: Fish stocking was the earliest management action recorded for Horseshoe Lake.

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 · 1980–2009

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

Bluegill651 stocked · 2008–2009 · 2 plantings

Rainbow trout9,850 stocked · 1980–1990 · 10 plantings

No stockings recorded since 2009 — 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.

At the lake

community-mapped amenities · straight-line distance

⛻ Campground≈1.1 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

The Minnow Bucket @ Exit 222≈8 mi776 N Saint Helen Rd, St Helen · Google · Apple

Ultimate Archery & Outdoors≈12.8 mi · (989) 387-63872275 S M-33, West Branch · Google · Apple

Luzeme Hardware≈13.8 mi · (989) 826-80502244 Deeter Rd, Luzeme · 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

Horseshoe Lake — common questions

How deep is Horseshoe Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Horseshoe Lake is 32 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 Horseshoe Lake?

Horseshoe Lake covers about 35 acres in Ogemaw County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Horseshoe Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Horseshoe Lake is 9.4 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Horseshoe Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, northern pike, black crappie, bluegill, crappie, hybrid sunfish. The page lists all 9 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Horseshoe Lake?

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