Lake St. Clair
depth
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Depth scale
The state-record American Eel — 7.44 lb — was caught here in 1990. 43″ · Stillfishing · on Live Shad
Survey readout
Lake St. Clair is mapped to a depth of 31 ft on the NOAA NCEI survey and covers about 272,718 acres in St. Clair County, Michigan. Coverage is sparse: about 76% of this lake lies well away from any surveyed contour, so most of the shape shown there is interpolated between distant measurements rather than mapped.
Derived from NOAA NCEI Great Lakes bathymetry data.
The 31 ft maximum is a narrow channel, not the lake bottom. Lake St. Clair averages about 9 ft, and only 2.3% of it is deeper than 20 ft. That deep water is the dredged navigation channel that carries freighter traffic between the St. Clair and Detroit rivers. Read the depth ramp for the shape of the lake; the deepest figure describes a small part of it.
- Deepest mapped contour
- 31 ft
- Surface area
- 272,718 acres
- Public access
- Boat Launch · Rec Passport
Additional depth details3 contours
- Contour depths
- 0–31 ft
- Recorded point soundings
- No point soundings recorded in source
Other waters with a public launch on this map: Saint Clair River, Detroit River. Their launches are not marked on the model — only Lake St. Clair’s own are.
Compare with another lakeProvenance
Sources: NOAA NCEI Great Lakes Bathymetry, USGS 3DEP, OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches, Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (Sentinel-2), processed by michiganlakedepths.com.
⚠ NOT FOR NAVIGATION. This is a recreational depth visualisation built from historical soundings, not a nautical chart. Use official NOAA charts (ENC/RNC) for navigation. Depths are referenced to low water datum and actual water levels vary.Spot an error? Send a correction
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 Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Colour shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.
- Coordinates
- 42.49000, -82.70000
- NOAA lake ID
- NOAA-GL-LSC
- Basemap
- Copernicus Sentinel-2 · ESA, via Microsoft Planetary Computer
- Model size
- 2.5 MB
Watercraft rules
county-enforced local controls · MI DNROfficial rule details1 rule
Fish you might catch
from angler catches34 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).
Lake Sturgeon
Muskellunge
American Eel
Flathead Catfish
Longnose Gar
Northern Pike
Common Carp
Atlantic Salmon
Bigmouth Buffalo
Bowfin
Channel Catfish
Lake Trout
Walleye
Redhorse Sucker
Freshwater Drum
Largemouth Bass
SuckerWhite Sucker
Quillback
Smallmouth Bass
Gizzard Shad
Mooneye
White Bass
Bullhead
Crappie
Redear Sunfish
White Perch
Yellow Perch
Bluegill
Rock Bass
Hybrid Sunfish
Pumpkinseed
Green SunfishFishing rules for this lake Beta
Size and daily limits for the 34 species found here — 29 open to harvest, 2 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.
From the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations digest (General Fishing Regulations table and notes) / FO-215.23A (eff. 2023-09-15) / FO-252.26 (eff. 2026-04-01) / FO-240.26 / FO-253.26 (eff. 2026-04-01, Great Lakes trout and salmon by management unit) · 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 · 1990–2025Trophy-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.
Catch details by species34 species
Biggest on record
Bait: artificial lure (438) · live bait (361) · minnow (210)
Method: trolling (1312) · spin casting (884) · still fishing (767) · drift fishing (296)
Lake St. Clair — common questions
How deep is Lake St. Clair?
The deepest contour on the NOAA NCEI bathymetric survey of Lake St. Clair is 31 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 St. Clair?
Lake St. Clair covers about 272,718 acres in St. Clair County, Michigan.
What fish are in Lake St. Clair?
Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include atlantic salmon, channel catfish, flathead catfish, lake sturgeon, lake trout, largemouth bass. The page lists all 34 species and the evidence behind each.
Is there public access to Lake St. Clair?
Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 10 public access sites on Lake St. Clair, including Clinton River Cut-off.