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Michigan lake depth maps

Bass Lake depth map

Bass Lake in Lake County, Michigan reaches a depth of 45 feet. Bass Lake is charted here across 6 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 40 ft, enclosing about 289 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 15 ft line, and only 2.4 acres lie inside the deepest one. Every contour is on the interactive map below, free and without an account.

Data: Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours (public record). Contours closed, checked and area-computed by Jordan Carter, founder of GilledIt · page updated

Bass Lake depth chart: 6 depth contours from 5 to 40 ft

Data: Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours (public record), retrieved August 2026 · depths change over time · not for navigation

Bass Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contourWater inside itShare of mapped water
5 ft289 acres100%
10 ft243 acres84%
15 ft129 acres45%
20 ft68 acres23%
30 ft19 acres6.6%
40 ft2.4 acresunder 1%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 289 acres inside the outermost charted contour (the 5 ft line), which is the outer edge of the mapped water, several state files carry no 0 ft shoreline line, so this is not the same as a share of the lake's published surface area. The survey also records a 45 ft sounding, marked as a point rather than a closed contour, so it is not charted as a band.

Fishing Bass Lake: a broad shallow flat

The survey encloses about 289 acres of Bass Lake inside its 5 ft contour, and half of that water lies inside the 15 ft line, so most of this Lake County water is shallow and the depth is concentrated in one part of the basin. Between 10 and 15 ft the mapped water sheds 114 acres in 5 ft of depth, the sharpest change on the chart, start on that band, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. 2.4 acres, under 1% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 40 ft contour, toward the northern end of the lake. With 45 ft at its deepest there is no true cold-water layer here, so structure does the work the thermocline does elsewhere: fish the points and inside turns where the 10 and 15 ft lines pinch together, hardest in early season and again as fish follow bait back down in autumn.

Ice fishing on Bass Lake

Bass Lake's 45 ft is a workable ice depth, enough water to hold fish all winter, without the slow freeze-up of a big basin. First light belongs on the 40 ft hole, all 2.4 acres of it; as the sun gets up, move onto the 10–15 ft break, and spend the middle of the day on the flats inside the 15 ft line. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Bass Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Bass Lake?
Bass Lake reaches a maximum depth of 45 feet in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey. Most of it is far shallower: the survey charts 6 closed depth contours over about 289 acres, and half of that water sits inside the 15 ft line. The 45 ft figure is a single recorded sounding rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is 40 ft.
Where is the deepest part of Bass Lake?
The deepest charted water on Bass Lake lies inside the 40 ft contour, toward the northern end of the lake. That contour encloses 2.4 acres, under 1% of the mapped water, so it is a small target on a small water, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.
How much of Bass Lake is shallower than 15 feet?
About half. The 15 ft contour encloses 129 acres of the roughly 289 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 15 feet. The sharpest drop is between 10 and 15 feet, where the mapped water sheds 114 acres.
How accurate is this Bass Lake depth map?
The contours come from the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, retrieved August 2026 and last rebuilt on August 19, 2026. Depths change over time with water levels and sediment, so treat this map as a planning guide for fishing, and never use it for navigation. Acreages are computed from the published contour geometry, not from a separate area survey, so read them as close approximations.

Depth maps for lakes near Bass Lake

Mapped fishing venues near Bass Lake

Bass Lake in the venue directory covers access and fishing details for this water.

Fishing in Michigan needs a state license: Michigan fishing license guide · all Michigan venues