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Roberts Lake

Cheboygan County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey
4ft Max
depth
68 acres 3 contours
Paddling Index79GoodMedium confidenceaway from major roads · wooded shoreline · sheltered geometry
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Roberts Lake is mapped to a depth of 4 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 68 acres in Cheboygan County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour
4 ft
Mean depth
1.9 ft · estimated
Surface area
68 acres
Estimated volume
128 acre-ft · 42M gal
Shoreline
1.73 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation
8% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details3 contours
Contour depths
0–4 ft
Recorded point soundings
4 ft

100% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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
45.39811, -84.55615
MI DNR lake ID
L10730
Vertical exaggeration
12.0× below the waterline; land at true scale
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
2.0 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21
79 / 100GoodData confidence: Medium

Roberts Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, generally 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 settingExcellent31.4 of 3588% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (70% forest, 15% wetland; 2% developed)
Geometric wind exposureVery Good22.0 of 29mean fetch 740 m · 2% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short 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 isolationExcellent16.3 of 18relatively isolated from major roads · 16 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 24 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 — 70% forest and 15% 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

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

Largemouth Bass
Brown Bullhead
Yellow Perch
Bluegill
Hybrid Sunfishstocked
Pumpkinseed
Iowa Darter

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 7 species found here — 7 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).
Brown BullheadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)
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).
Brown BullheadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)
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).
Iowa DarterOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)
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).
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).
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 · 2022–2023

Master Angler catches recorded on this lake — too few to show a pattern, so they are listed individually.

Bluegill10″ · 2023 · spincasting · artificial lure
Bluegill10″ · 2023 · spincasting · live bait
Bluegill10″ · 2022 · spincasting · 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.

Fishery

surveyed 2014 · DNR SFR 2014-187
25Fish sampled
5Species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass5 caught · to 15″

Panfish

Pumpkinseed6 caught · to 8″
Yellow Perch1 caught

Bullhead & catfish

Brown Bullhead3 caught · to 12″

Forage & nongame

Iowa Darter10 caught
Stocking: Fish stocking records date back to 1931 at Roberts 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 · 1986–1986

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

Hybrid Sunfish14,000 stocked · 1986

No stockings recorded since 1986 — shown as history.

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.

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance
Pat & Gary's Party Store≈2.9 mi3758 S Straits Hwy, Indian River · Google · Apple
Big Cox's Trading Post≈3.1 mi1334 E. Mullett Lake Rd, Indian River · Google · Apple
LW Convenience & More LLC≈3.6 mi · (231) 238-28785075 S Straits Hwy, Indian River · 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

Roberts Lake — common questions

How deep is Roberts Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Roberts Lake is 4 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 Roberts Lake?

Roberts Lake covers about 68 acres in Cheboygan County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Roberts Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Roberts Lake is 1.9 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Roberts Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed, yellow perch. The page lists all 7 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Roberts Lake?

No public launch for Roberts 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.