Shafer Lake

Van Buren County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

70ft Max
depth

75 acres 9 contours Public access

Paddling Index52Modestsheltered geometry

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Depth scale

051020304050606570

The lake

Survey readout

Shafer Lake is mapped to a depth of 70 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 75 acres in Van Buren 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 mapped contour: 70 ft
Mean depth: 33.9 ft · estimated
Surface area: 75 acres
Estimated volume: 2,540 acre-ft · 828M gal
Shoreline: 1.82 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 6% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details9 contours

Contour depths: 0–70 ft
Recorded point soundings: 70 ft

19.3% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 70.7% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Van Buren County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 36 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: 42.19154, -86.10270
MI DNR lake ID: L30673
Vertical exaggeration: 1.4×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.1 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21

52 / 100ModestData confidence: High

Shafer Lake has a mixed natural and developed setting, generally sheltered geometry, substantial nearby higher-volume roads. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Mixed	12.1 of 30	54% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (45% forest, 9% wetland; 27% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Very Good	18.0 of 25	mean fetch 791 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch
Watercraft controls	None identified	7.5 of 15	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Good	12.8 of 15	1 site with DNR boating-facility records · 1 ramp lane · 8 trailer spaces
Road isolation	Modest	1.2 of 15	substantial nearby higher-volume roads · 10 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 42,760 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 6% 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 — 45% forest and 9% 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).

Rainbow Trout

Largemouth Bass

Bullhead

Black Crappie

Crappie

Yellow Perch

Bluegill

Hybrid Sunfish

Pumpkinseed

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.

Designated Type C trout lake — season open for the entire year; tackle: all types of natural bait and artificial lures may be used.

BullheadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no possession limit (2026 DNR digest · all other species)

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).

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).

Rainbow TroutOpen to harvestMinimum size: 8" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · Type C) Five (5) trout, except that the daily possession limit shall not include more than three (3) trout 15 inches or greater.

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 · 2005–2018

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

4Species

Bluegill2 recorded · to 10.4″ · latest 2018

Bullhead2 recorded · to 15.5″ · latest 2017

Crappie1 recorded · to 15.1″ · latest 2016

Pumpkinseed1 recorded · to 9.5″ · latest 2016

Biggest on record

Bullhead15.5″ · 2017 · still fishing · red worm

Crappie15.1″ · 2016 · ice fishing · minnow

Bullhead15″ · 2017 · still fishing · red worm

Bluegill10.4″ · 2005 · still fishing · worm

Bluegill10″ · 2018 · spincasting · red worm

Bait: red worm (4) · minnow (1) · worm (1)
Method: still fishing (3) · spincasting (2) · ice 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

DNR SFR 2011-115

467Fish sampled

7Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 43 · Rainbow Trout 36

Panfish Bluegill 165 · Yellow Perch 126 · Pumpkinseed 44

All survey species7 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass43 caught · to 18″

Rainbow Trout36 caught · to 19″

Panfish

Bluegill165 caught · to 9″

Yellow Perch126 caught · to 13″

Pumpkinseed44 caught · to 8″

Black Crappie41 caught · to 12″

Hybrid Sunfish12 caught · to 7″

Stocking: From 1933 through 1945, bluegills, largemouth bass, and yellow perch were stocked in Shafer Lake (Table 1).

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 · 1980–2026

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

Rainbow trout116,235 stocked · 1980–2026 · 47 plantings

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

2 records

Plants & algae

Curly-leaf Pondweed
Eurasian Watermilfoil

What does non-native mean?

USGS records identify non-native species that have been documented for this lake or its shoreline. Non-native does not necessarily mean invasive, and historical records do not confirm current presence.

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

🚿 Restrooms / vault toileton the lake · 2 mapped

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

Rice's Sports Center - 1≈3 mi · (269) 621-4216516 E Main St, Hartford · Google · Apple

Elinee bait & Tackle≈8.8 mi5605 Paw Paw Lake rd, Coloma · Google · Apple

Happy Jake's LLC≈12.8 mi24992 Marcellus Hwy, Dowagiac · 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

Shafer Lake — common questions

How deep is Shafer Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Shafer Lake is 70 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 Shafer Lake?

Shafer Lake covers about 75 acres in Van Buren County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Shafer Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Shafer Lake is 33.9 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Shafer Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, rainbow trout, black crappie, bluegill, bullhead, crappie. The page lists all 9 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Shafer Lake?

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