Michigan lake depth maps
Grand Sable Lake depth map
Grand Sable Lake in Alger County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 85 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Grand Sable Lake is charted here across 16 closed depth contours, from the 10 ft line down to 85 ft, enclosing about 541 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 45 ft line, and only under an acre 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
Grand Sable Lake depth chart: 16 depth contours from 10 to 85 ft
Data: Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours (public record), retrieved August 2026 · depths change over time · not for navigation
| Depth contour | Water inside it | Share of mapped water |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ft | 541 acres | 100% |
| 15 ft | 481 acres | 89% |
| 20 ft | 445 acres | 82% |
| 25 ft | 420 acres | 78% |
| 30 ft | 381 acres | 70% |
| 35 ft | 347 acres | 64% |
| 40 ft | 313 acres | 58% |
| 45 ft | 268 acres | 50% |
| 50 ft | 204 acres | 38% |
| 55 ft | 113 acres | 21% |
| 60 ft | 33 acres | 6.1% |
| 65 ft | 5.4 acres | 1% |
| 70 ft | 2.5 acres | under 1% |
| 75 ft | 1.5 acres | under 1% |
| 80 ft | under 1 acre | under 1% |
| 85 ft | under 1 acre | under 1% |
Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 541 acres inside the outermost charted contour (the 10 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.
Fishing Grand Sable Lake: a stepped drop into deep water
The survey encloses about 541 acres of Grand Sable Lake inside its 10 ft contour, and half of that water lies inside the 45 ft line, so the drop to the deep basin comes in stages, each contour giving up another slice of water, rather than in one abrupt wall. Between 50 and 55 ft the mapped water sheds 91 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. Inside the 85 ft contour there is under an acre of water, toward the northern end of the lake: a single pocket rather than a basin, and worth a drift over in high summer. 85 ft of water makes this a two-story fishery: warm-water fish hold the 10-to-45 ft ground while the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline, and the traffic between the two runs along the 50–55 ft break at first and last light.
Ice fishing on Grand Sable Lake
Grand Sable Lake freezes later and less evenly than the shallow waters around it, and the winter bite sets up on the first real break rather than out over the 85 ft hole. The 50–55 ft band on the chart above is that edge: 91 acres of bottom tilt away there, and panfish and walleye slide up and down it through the day. Late ice pushes fish back onto the 10-to-45 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.
Grand Sable Lake depth map FAQs
- How deep is Grand Sable Lake?
- Grand Sable Lake is more than 85 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 85 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.
- Where is the deepest part of Grand Sable Lake?
- The deepest charted water on Grand Sable Lake lies inside the 85 ft contour, toward the northern end of the lake. That contour encloses under an acre, under 1% 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 Grand Sable Lake is shallower than 45 feet?
- About half. The 45 ft contour encloses 268 acres of the roughly 541 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 45 feet. The sharpest drop is between 50 and 55 feet, where the mapped water sheds 91 acres.
- How accurate is this Grand Sable 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 Grand Sable Lake
- Beaver Lake depth map · 39+ ft max · 15 mi away
- North Belle Lake depth map · 70+ ft max · 15 mi away
- Camp Eight Lake depth map · 74+ ft max · 18 mi away
- Long Lake depth map · 71 ft max · 18 mi away
- Syphon Lake depth map · 160 ft max · 19 mi away
Mapped fishing venues near Grand Sable Lake
Grand Sable Lake in the venue directory covers access and fishing details for this water.
- Beaver Lake · 15 mi away
- North Belle Lake · 15 mi away
- Camp Eight Lake · 18 mi away
Fishing in Michigan needs a state license: Michigan fishing license guide · all Michigan venues