How deep is Otter Lake?

Otter Lake is at least 117 feet deep. That figure is the deepest surveyed sounding in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, a point measurement rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is the 100 ft contour, and the water may run deeper still.

Where is the deepest part of Otter Lake?

The deepest charted water on Otter Lake lies inside the 100 ft contour, toward the southeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 1.9 acres, 4.5% 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 Otter Lake is shallower than 30 feet?

About half. The 30 ft contour encloses 20 acres of the roughly 42 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 30 feet. The sharpest drop is between 10 and 20 feet, where the mapped water sheds 12 acres.

How accurate is this Otter 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

Otter Lake depth map

Otter Lake in Lapeer County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 117 feet at its deepest surveyed sounding. Otter Lake is charted here across 7 closed depth contours, from the 10 ft line down to 100 ft, enclosing about 42 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 30 ft line, and only 1.9 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

Otter Lake depth chart: 7 depth contours from 10 to 100 ft

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

Otter Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
10 ft	42 acres	100%
20 ft	30 acres	71%
30 ft	20 acres	48%
40 ft	15 acres	35%
50 ft	9.7 acres	23%
70 ft	4.7 acres	11%
100 ft	1.9 acres	4.5%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 42 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. The survey also records a 117 ft sounding, marked as a point rather than a closed contour, so it is not charted as a band.

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

The survey encloses about 42 acres of Otter Lake inside its 10 ft contour, and half of that water lies inside the 30 ft line, so most of this Lapeer County water is shallow and the depth is concentrated in one part of the basin. Between 10 and 20 ft the mapped water sheds 12 acres in 10 ft of depth, the sharpest change on the chart, start on that band, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. 1.9 acres, 4.5% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 100 ft contour, toward the southeastern corner of the lake. At 117 ft this is two-story water: the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline while warm-water fish stay up on the 10-to-30 ft ground, and the fish that move between the two do it along the 10–20 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Otter Lake

Deep water like Otter 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 100 ft hole. That edge is the 10–20 ft band on the chart above, where 12 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 10-to-30 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Otter Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Otter Lake?: Otter Lake is at least 117 feet deep. That figure is the deepest surveyed sounding in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, a point measurement rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is the 100 ft contour, and the water may run deeper still.
Where is the deepest part of Otter Lake?: The deepest charted water on Otter Lake lies inside the 100 ft contour, toward the southeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 1.9 acres, 4.5% 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 Otter Lake is shallower than 30 feet?: About half. The 30 ft contour encloses 20 acres of the roughly 42 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 30 feet. The sharpest drop is between 10 and 20 feet, where the mapped water sheds 12 acres.
How accurate is this Otter 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 Otter Lake

Big Fish Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 23 mi away
Lake Fenton depth map · 90+ ft max · 29 mi away
Dickinson Lake depth map · 68 ft max · 30 mi away
Lakeville Lake depth map · 66 ft max · 31 mi away
Lake Orion depth map · 80 ft max · 32 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Otter Lake

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

"The Gravel Pit" · 14 mi away
Big Fish Lake · 23 mi away

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