How deep is McCollum Lake?

McCollum Lake reaches a maximum depth of 60 feet in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey. Most of it is far shallower: the survey charts 7 closed depth contours over about 217 acres, and half of that water sits inside the 15 ft line. The 60 ft figure is a single recorded sounding rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is 50 ft.

Where is the deepest part of McCollum Lake?

The deepest charted water on McCollum Lake lies inside the 50 ft contour, toward the northern end of the lake. That contour encloses 13 acres, 6% 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 McCollum Lake is shallower than 15 feet?

About half. The 15 ft contour encloses 104 acres of the roughly 217 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 15 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 85 acres.

How accurate is this McCollum 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

McCollum Lake depth map

McCollum Lake in Oscoda County, Michigan reaches a depth of 60 feet. McCollum Lake is charted here across 7 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 50 ft, enclosing about 217 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 15 ft line, and only 13 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

McCollum Lake depth chart: 7 depth contours from 5 to 50 ft

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

McCollum Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
5 ft	217 acres	100%
10 ft	132 acres	61%
15 ft	104 acres	48%
20 ft	92 acres	42%
30 ft	73 acres	34%
40 ft	43 acres	20%
50 ft	13 acres	6%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 217 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 60 ft sounding, marked as a point rather than a closed contour, so it is not charted as a band.

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

Inside its outermost 5 ft contour the survey charts about 217 acres of McCollum Lake, with the 15 ft line enclosing half of it, so the bulk of this Oscoda County water sits on a shallow flat, with the real depth packed into one part of the basin. The sharpest change on the chart is between 5 and 10 ft, where the mapped water loses 85 acres in 5 ft of depth, that band is the contour to work first, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. The deepest 50 ft contour holds 13 acres, 6% of the mapped water, toward the northern end of the lake. 60 ft of water makes this a two-story fishery: warm-water fish hold the 5-to-15 ft ground while the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline, and the traffic between the two runs along the 5–10 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on McCollum Lake

McCollum 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 50 ft hole. The 5–10 ft band on the chart above is that edge: 85 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 5-to-15 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

McCollum Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is McCollum Lake?: McCollum Lake reaches a maximum depth of 60 feet in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey. Most of it is far shallower: the survey charts 7 closed depth contours over about 217 acres, and half of that water sits inside the 15 ft line. The 60 ft figure is a single recorded sounding rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is 50 ft.
Where is the deepest part of McCollum Lake?: The deepest charted water on McCollum Lake lies inside the 50 ft contour, toward the northern end of the lake. That contour encloses 13 acres, 6% 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 McCollum Lake is shallower than 15 feet?: About half. The 15 ft contour encloses 104 acres of the roughly 217 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 15 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 85 acres.
How accurate is this McCollum 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 McCollum Lake

Beaver Lake depth map · 70+ ft max · 12 mi away
Sage Lakes depth map · 36+ ft max · 15 mi away
Hubbard Lake depth map · 80+ ft max · 16 mi away
North Lake depth map · 92+ ft max · 17 mi away
Hunters Lake depth map · 82 ft max · 18 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near McCollum Lake

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

Beaver Lake · 12 mi away
Au Sable River · 13 mi away
Sage Lakes · 15 mi away

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