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Penegor Lake

Houghton County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey
62ft Max
depth
9.8 acres 10 contours
Paddling Index85Very GoodMedium confidenceaway from major roads · sheltered geometry · wooded shoreline
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Penegor Lake is mapped to a depth of 62 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 9.8 acres in Houghton County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding
62 ft
Mean depth
22.2 ft · estimated
Surface area
9.8 acres
Estimated volume
219 acre-ft · 71M gal
Shoreline
0.51 mi · round
Aquatic vegetation
11% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details10 contours
Contour depths
0–62 ft
Recorded point soundings
62 ft, 59 ft

28.4% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 44.6% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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.

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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
46.61494, -88.86015
MI DNR lake ID
L42482
Vertical exaggeration
1.57×
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
0.5 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21
85 / 100Very GoodData confidence: Medium

Penegor Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, well sheltered geometry, 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 settingExcellent28.8 of 3585% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (82% forest, 3% wetland; 11% developed)
Geometric wind exposureExcellent29.4 of 29mean fetch 219 m · 100% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most 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 isolationExcellent17.6 of 18relatively isolated from major roads · 2 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 140 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
Moderate — narrow in places — wakes would carry across parts of the lake
Aquatic vegetation
Low — approximately 11% 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 — 82% forest and 3% 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

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

Arctic Graylingstocked
Brook Troutstocked
Hybrid Sunfish

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 3 species found here — 2 open to harvest, 1 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.

Arctic GraylingClosedTaking or possessing Arctic Grayling is unlawful anywhere in Michigan. (FO-252.26)
Brook TroutOpen to harvestMinimum size: 10" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · Type A) Five (5) trout, except that the daily possession limit shall not include more than three (3) trout 15 inches or greater.
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.
Designated Type A trout lake — season last Saturday in April - October 31; tackle: natural baits except minnows (dead or alive) and artificial lures may be used.
Arctic GraylingClosedTaking or possessing Arctic Grayling is unlawful anywhere in Michigan. (FO-252.26)
Brook TroutOpen to harvestMinimum size: 10" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · Type A) Five (5) trout, except that the daily possession limit shall not include more than three (3) trout 15 inches or greater.
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).

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 · 2023

One Master Angler catch is on record for this lake: 10″ hybrid sunfish in 2023 on live bait.

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 · 1979–2025

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

Brook trout34,129 stocked · 1979–2025 · 50 plantings
Arctic grayling1,298 stocked · 1987–2023 · 3 plantings

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.

Quick answers

Penegor Lake — common questions

How deep is Penegor Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Penegor Lake is 62 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 Penegor Lake?

Penegor Lake covers about 9.8 acres in Houghton County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Penegor Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Penegor Lake is 22.2 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Penegor Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include brook trout, hybrid sunfish, arctic grayling. The page shows the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Penegor Lake?

No public launch for Penegor Lake 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.