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Lake Geneserath

Charlevoix County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey
50ft Max
depth
469 acres 13 contours
Paddling Index66MixedMedium confidenceaway from major roads · wooded shoreline
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Lake Geneserath is mapped to a depth of 50 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 469 acres in Charlevoix 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
50 ft
Mean depth
16.5 ft · estimated
Surface area
469 acres
Estimated volume
7,734 acre-ft · 2,520M gal
Shoreline
5.19 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation
4% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details13 contours
Contour depths
0–50 ft
Recorded point soundings
50 ft, 50 ft, 18 ft, 18 ft

40.5% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 34.9% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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.

⚠ 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
45.59593, -85.53640
MI DNR lake ID
L10502
Vertical exaggeration
1.98×
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
2.4 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21
66 / 100MixedData confidence: Medium

Lake Geneserath has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, moderate open-water exposure, little nearby major-road exposure. 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 3577% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (35% forest, 42% wetland; 7% developed)
Geometric wind exposureGood14.9 of 29mean fetch 1,332 m · 2% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · moderate open-water 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 isolationExcellent14.9 of 18relatively isolated from major roads · 9 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 23 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 4% 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 — 35% forest and 42% 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 & active stocking

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).

Walleyestocked
Bluegill
Rock Bass
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
WalleyeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 15" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-215 · statewide inland)
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 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 · 2010–2025

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.

6Catches recorded
3Species
Bluegill4 recorded · to 11.5″ · latest 2025
Pumpkinseed1 recorded · to 9.6″ · latest 2018
Rock Bass1 recorded · to 11.2″ · latest 2010

Biggest on record

Bluegill11.5″ · 2025 · ice fishing · combination
Rock Bass11.2″ · 2010 · trolling · night crawler
Bluegill10.5″ · 2020
Bluegill10.2″ · 2024 · spincasting · live bait
Bluegill10.1″ · 2024 · spincasting · artificial lure

Bait: combination (1) · live bait (1) · artificial lure (1)
Method: spincasting (2) · ice fishing (1) · 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.

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1991–2025

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

Walleye8,561,485 stocked · 1991–2025 · 20 plantings

At the lake

community-mapped amenities · straight-line distance
🏖 Beach / swim 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).
Quick answers

Lake Geneserath — common questions

How deep is Lake Geneserath?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Lake Geneserath is 50 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 Lake Geneserath?

Lake Geneserath covers about 469 acres in Charlevoix County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Lake Geneserath?

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

What fish are in Lake Geneserath?

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

Is there public access to Lake Geneserath?

No public launch for Lake Geneserath 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.