Tawas Bay
depth
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Depth scale
Survey readout
Tawas Bay is mapped to a depth of 43 ft on the NOAA NCEI survey and covers about 7,769 acres in Iosco County, Michigan. Coverage is sparse: about 62% 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 maximum depth and the “deepest” marker describe Tawas Bay itself. The map also renders the surrounding open-lake water inside the frame. Depths in that water reach about 66 ft.
- Deepest mapped contour
- 43 ft
- Surface area
- 7,769 acres
- Public access
- Boat Launch · Rec Passport
Additional depth details6 contours
- Contour depths
- 0–43 ft
- Recorded point soundings
- 43 ft
Other waters with a public launch on this map: Tawas Lake. Their launches are not marked on the model — only Tawas Bay’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
- 44.25500, -83.48000
- NOAA lake ID
- NOAA-GL-TAWAS
- Vertical exaggeration
- 8.0× below the waterline; land at true scale
- Basemap
- Copernicus Sentinel-2 · ESA, via Microsoft Planetary Computer
- Model size
- 1.8 MB
Fish you might catch
from angler catches17 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).
Northern Pike
Bowfin
Channel Catfish
Lake Trout
Walleye
Burbot
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Freshwater Drum
Lake Whitefish
White Sucker
Smallmouth Bass
Menominee Whitefish
Bullhead
Yellow Perch
Bluegill
Rock BassFishing rules for this lake Beta
Size and daily limits for the 17 species found here — 17 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.
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 · 1997–2025Trophy-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 species17 species
Biggest on record
Bait: live bait (38) · minnow (10) · combination (8)
Method: still fishing (44) · ice fishing (21) · spin casting (21) · trolling (9)
Shipwrecks in Tawas Bay 1 recorded · none with a verified position
Positions are published by the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council. 0 of 1 here have been verified by the state; the rest are approximate and are marked as such.
1 of these wreck has a 3D reconstruction of the ship afloat — tap a labelled marker on the map, or the 3D preview button below. Only wrecks with a reconstruction are marked on the map; the rest are listed below.
- GoshawkapproximateSchooner Barge, 2-Mast · lost 1920 · foundered full reconstruction40 ft
Treat these as graves. Lives were lost on many Great Lakes wrecks, and human remains may still be present. Michigan’s bottomlands also hold submerged cultural sites that long predate these ships. Look, photograph, and leave everything exactly as you found it.
Removing or disturbing wreckage on Great Lakes bottomlands is a felony under Michigan Part 761, 1994 PA 451, at a fair market value of $100 or more. Positions are historical reference only — not navigation, and not dive-planning data. Wreck records are published by the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council, which publishes a guide to the Thunder Bay preserve.
Tawas Bay — common questions
How deep is Tawas Bay?
The deepest contour on the NOAA NCEI bathymetric survey of Tawas Bay is 43 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 Tawas Bay?
Tawas Bay covers about 7,769 acres in Iosco County, Michigan.
What fish are in Tawas Bay?
Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include brown trout, burbot, channel catfish, lake trout, lake whitefish, northern pike. The page lists all 17 species and the evidence behind each.
Is there public access to Tawas Bay?
Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 1 public access site on Tawas Bay, including East Tawas Launch Ramp.
