Upper Herring Lake

Benzie County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

25ft Max
depth

554 acres 5 contours Public access

Paddling Index54Modest

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Depth scale

0510152025

The lake

Survey readout

Upper Herring Lake is mapped to a depth of 25 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 554 acres in Benzie 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: 25 ft
Mean depth: 15.9 ft · estimated
Surface area: 554 acres
Estimated volume: 8,813 acre-ft · 2,872M gal
Shoreline: 4.12 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 1% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details5 contours

Contour depths: 0–25 ft
Recorded point soundings: 25 ft

26.5% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 53.5% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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

Benzie County, Michigan · all 15 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: 44.55973, -86.18350
MI DNR lake ID: L42175
Vertical exaggeration: 2.83×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.4 MB

Paddling

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

54 / 100ModestData confidence: High

Upper Herring Lake has a partly natural setting, moderate open-water exposure, some nearby classified 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	Good	15.7 of 30	54% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (4% forest, 49% wetland; 15% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Good	10.2 of 25	mean fetch 1,679 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · moderate open-water 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	Good	8.1 of 15	some nearby classified roads · 28 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 1,117 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 1% 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 — 4% forest and 49% 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

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

Longnose Gar

Bowfin

Walleyestocked

Largemouth Bass

White Sucker

Smallmouth Bass

Crappie

Bluegill

Rock Bass

Logperch

Bluntnose Minnow

Iowa Darter

Johnny Darter

Mimic Shiner

Sand Shiner

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 15 species found here — 15 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).

Bluntnose MinnowOpen 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.

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

BowfinOpen 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).

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

Johnny 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).

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

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

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

Rock BassOpen 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).

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

Smallmouth 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).

WalleyeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 15" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-215 · statewide inland)

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

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 · 2001–2025

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.

28Catches recorded

5Species

Rock Bass20 recorded · to 12.5″ · latest 2025

Bluegill3 recorded · to 10.8″ · latest 2025

Smallmouth Bass3 recorded · to 21″ · latest 2023

Crappie1 recorded · to 14.5″ · latest 2011

Largemouth Bass1 recorded · to 21″ · latest 2025

Biggest on record

Largemouth Bass21″ · 2025 · spincasting · artificial lure

Smallmouth Bass21″ · 2023 · spincasting · artificial lure

Smallmouth Bass21″ · 2023 · still fishing · live bait

Smallmouth Bass21″ · 2022 · spincasting · artificial lure

Crappie14.5″ · 2011 · trolling

Bait: artificial lure (15) · live bait (6)
Method: spincasting (18) · still fishing (7) · trolling (3)

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 2015 · DNR SFR 2015-210

488Fish sampled

9Species

Gamefish Bowfin 2

All survey species9 species

Gamefish

Bowfin2 caught · to 25″

Forage & nongame

Sand Shiner226 caught · to 2″

Bluntnose Minnow221 caught · to 2″

White Sucker27 caught · to 18″

Longnose Gar5 caught · to 27″

Logperch3 caught · to 3″

Johnny Darter2 caught · to 2″

Iowa Darter1 caught · to 1″

Mimic Shiner1 caught · to 1″

Stocking: The first recorded fish stocking event for Upper Herring Lake occurred in 1929 when Bluegill were stocked by the Michigan Department of Conservation (MDOC, the precursor to today's MDNR; 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 · 1987–2025

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

Walleye544,053 stocked · 1987–2025 · 23 plantings

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

4 records

Mussels & snails

Zebra Mussel

Plants & algae

Purple Loosestrife
Reed Canarygrass

Fish

Brown Trout

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

Backcast Fly Shop/Benzie Pets≈5.4 mi1675 Benzie Hwy, Benzonia · Google · Apple

Frankfort Tackle Box≈5.5 mi903 Main St, Frankfort · Google · Apple

Stapleton's Corner Market≈5.9 mi790 Michigan Ave, Benzonia · 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

Upper Herring Lake — common questions

How deep is Upper Herring Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Upper Herring Lake is 25 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 Upper Herring Lake?

Upper Herring Lake covers about 554 acres in Benzie County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Upper Herring Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Upper Herring Lake is 15.9 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Upper Herring Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, bluegill, bowfin, crappie. The page lists all 15 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Upper Herring Lake?

Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 2 public access sites on Upper Herring Lake, including Upper Herring Lake.