How deep is Duck Lake?

Duck Lake reaches a maximum depth of 98 feet in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey. Most of it is far shallower: the survey charts 10 closed depth contours over about 2,162 acres, and half of that water sits inside the 20 ft line. The 98 ft figure is a single recorded sounding rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is 90 ft.

Where is the deepest part of Duck Lake?

The deepest charted water on Duck Lake lies inside the 90 ft contour, toward the southwestern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 51 acres, 2.4% of the mapped water, so it is a small target on a big lake, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.

How much of Duck Lake is shallower than 20 feet?

About half. The 20 ft contour encloses 1,034 acres of the roughly 2,162 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 20 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 711 acres.

How accurate is this Duck 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.

Michigan lake depth maps

Duck Lake depth map

Duck Lake in Grand Traverse County, Michigan reaches a depth of 98 feet. Duck Lake is charted here across 10 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 90 ft, enclosing about 2,162 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 20 ft line, and only 51 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 August 19, 2026

Duck Lake depth chart: 10 depth contours from 5 to 90 ft

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

Duck Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
5 ft	2,162 acres	100%
10 ft	1,451 acres	67%
20 ft	1,034 acres	48%
30 ft	913 acres	42%
40 ft	687 acres	32%
50 ft	467 acres	22%
60 ft	253 acres	12%
70 ft	147 acres	6.8%
80 ft	111 acres	5.2%
90 ft	51 acres	2.4%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 2,162 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 98 ft sounding, marked as a point rather than a closed contour, so it is not charted as a band.

Fishing Duck Lake: a wide shallow flat over a deep hole

Inside its outermost 5 ft contour the survey charts about 2,162 acres of Duck Lake, with the 20 ft line enclosing half of it, so most of this Grand Traverse County water is shallow and the depth is concentrated in one part of the basin. The sharpest change on the chart is between 5 and 10 ft, where the mapped water loses 711 acres in 5 ft of depth, that band is the contour to work first, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. 51 acres, 2.4% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 90 ft contour, toward the southwestern corner of the lake. At 98 ft this is two-story water: the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline while warm-water fish stay up on the 5-to-20 ft ground, and the fish that move between the two do it along the 5–10 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Duck Lake

Deep water like Duck Lake freezes later and less evenly than the shallow lakes around it, and the winter bite sets up on the first real break, not out over the 90 ft hole. That edge is the 5–10 ft band on the chart above, where 711 acres of bottom tilt away, and panfish and walleye work up and down it through the day. By late ice the fish push back onto the 5-to-20 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Duck Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Duck Lake?: Duck Lake reaches a maximum depth of 98 feet in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey. Most of it is far shallower: the survey charts 10 closed depth contours over about 2,162 acres, and half of that water sits inside the 20 ft line. The 98 ft figure is a single recorded sounding rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is 90 ft.
Where is the deepest part of Duck Lake?: The deepest charted water on Duck Lake lies inside the 90 ft contour, toward the southwestern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 51 acres, 2.4% of the mapped water, so it is a small target on a big lake, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.
How much of Duck Lake is shallower than 20 feet?: About half. The 20 ft contour encloses 1,034 acres of the roughly 2,162 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 20 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 711 acres.
How accurate is this Duck 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 Duck Lake

Green Lake depth map · 102 ft max · 2 mi away
Cedar Hedge Lake depth map · 69 ft max · 4 mi away
Silver Lake depth map · 96+ ft max · 5 mi away
Long Lake depth map · 88+ ft max · 6 mi away
Lake Ann depth map · 75 ft max · 8 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Duck Lake

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

Green Lake · 2 mi away
Cedar Hedge Lake · 4 mi away
Silver Lake · 5 mi away

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