Woodard Lake

Ionia County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

20ft Max
depth

69 acres 4 contours Public access

Paddling Index69Mixedsheltered geometry

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Depth scale

05101520

The lake

Survey readout

Woodard Lake is mapped to a depth of 20 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 69 acres in Ionia 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: 20 ft
Mean depth: 9.3 ft · estimated
Surface area: 69 acres
Estimated volume: 638 acre-ft · 208M gal
Shoreline: 1.24 mi · round
Aquatic vegetation: 4% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details4 contours

Contour depths: 0–20 ft
Recorded point soundings: 20 ft

48.6% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 4.8% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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

Ionia County, Michigan · all 5 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: 43.08197, -85.06198
MI DNR lake ID: L10909
Vertical exaggeration: 3.0×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.1 MB

Paddling

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

69 / 100MixedData confidence: High

Woodard Lake has a partly natural setting, well sheltered geometry, 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	17.4 of 30	61% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (7% forest, 53% wetland; 16% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	22.8 of 25	mean fetch 541 m · 36% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
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	8.5 of 15	some nearby classified roads · 5 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 7,951 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 4% 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 — 7% forest and 53% 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

10 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

Walleyestocked

Largemouth Bass

Lake Chubsucker

Bluegill

Hybrid Sunfish

Green Sunfish

Golden Shiner

Blackchin Shiner

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 10 species found here — 9 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.

Largemouth BassSpecial rulesNamed in a fisheries order for this lake — see the rule text below

Blackchin ShinerOpen 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.

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

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).

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

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

Green 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).

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).

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

Largemouth BassSpecial rulesNamed in a fisheries order for this lake — see the rule text below

Northern PikeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 24" · Daily limit: 2 (FO-215 · statewide inland)

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

Official rule text for this lake

“the minimum size limit for Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass is 10-inches.” — FO-206

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 · 2002–2025

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

Northern Pike40″ · 2020

Largemouth Bass21.2″ · 2025 · spincasting · artificial lure

Bluegill11.5″ · 2002 · still fishing · worm

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 2010 · DNR SFR 2016-224

42Fish sampled

6Species

Gamefish

Bowfin8 caught · to 27″

Panfish

Hybrid Sunfish5 caught · to 8″

Green Sunfish1 caught · to 4″

Forage & nongame

Blackchin Shiner14 caught · to 1″

Lake Chubsucker12 caught · to 6″

Golden Shiner2 caught · to 9″

Stocking: Management efforts began in the late 1800s, but fish stocking records before 1933 are incomplete.

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 · 1987–2024

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

Walleye59,268 stocked · 1987–2024 · 13 plantings

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

1 record

Plants & algae

Purple Loosestrife

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

Bubby Bait & Tackle≈8.6 mi210 Covered Village Mall, Belding · Google · Apple

Old Man of the River≈9 mi352 Tabor St, Lyons · Google · Apple

M-57 Surplus≈11.9 mi10425 E Carson City Rd, Carson City · 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

Woodard Lake — common questions

How deep is Woodard Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Woodard Lake is 20 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 Woodard Lake?

Woodard Lake covers about 69 acres in Ionia County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Woodard Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Woodard Lake is 9.3 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Woodard Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, bluegill, bowfin, green sunfish. The page lists all 10 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Woodard Lake?

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

More lakes in Ionia County