How deep is Ryerson Lake?

Ryerson Lake is more than 80 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 80 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.

Where is the deepest part of Ryerson Lake?

The deepest charted water on Ryerson Lake lies inside the 80 ft contour, toward the northwestern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 3.2 acres, 1.9% 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 Ryerson Lake is shallower than 30 feet?

About half. The 30 ft contour encloses 81 acres of the roughly 171 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 30 feet. The sharpest drop is between 25 and 30 feet, where the mapped water sheds 42 acres.

How accurate is this Ryerson 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

Ryerson Lake depth map

Ryerson Lake in Newaygo County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 80 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Ryerson Lake is charted here across 9 closed depth contours, from the 10 ft line down to 80 ft, enclosing about 171 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 30 ft line, and only 3.2 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

Ryerson Lake depth chart: 9 depth contours from 10 to 80 ft

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

Ryerson Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
10 ft	171 acres	100%
15 ft	152 acres	89%
25 ft	123 acres	72%
30 ft	81 acres	47%
40 ft	48 acres	28%
50 ft	35 acres	20%
60 ft	26 acres	15%
70 ft	18 acres	11%
80 ft	3.2 acres	1.9%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 171 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 Ryerson Lake: a wide shallow flat over a deep hole

The survey encloses about 171 acres of Ryerson Lake inside its 10 ft contour, and half of that water lies inside the 30 ft line, so the bulk of this Newaygo County water sits on a shallow flat, with the real depth packed into one part of the basin. Between 25 and 30 ft the mapped water sheds 42 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. The deepest 80 ft contour holds 3.2 acres, 1.9% of the mapped water, toward the northwestern corner of the lake. 80 ft of water makes this a two-story fishery: warm-water fish hold the 10-to-30 ft ground while the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline, and the traffic between the two runs along the 25–30 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Ryerson Lake

Ryerson 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 80 ft hole. The 25–30 ft band on the chart above is that edge: 42 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-30 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Ryerson Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Ryerson Lake?: Ryerson Lake is more than 80 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 80 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.
Where is the deepest part of Ryerson Lake?: The deepest charted water on Ryerson Lake lies inside the 80 ft contour, toward the northwestern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 3.2 acres, 1.9% 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 Ryerson Lake is shallower than 30 feet?: About half. The 30 ft contour encloses 81 acres of the roughly 171 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 30 feet. The sharpest drop is between 25 and 30 feet, where the mapped water sheds 42 acres.
How accurate is this Ryerson 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 Ryerson Lake

Pickerel Lake depth map · 73 ft max · 3 mi away
Sylvan Lake depth map · 63+ ft max · 4 mi away
Fremont Lake depth map · 88+ ft max · 6 mi away
McLaren Lake depth map · 70+ ft max · 14 mi away
Half Moon Lake depth map · 82 ft max · 16 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Ryerson Lake

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

Pickerel Lake · 3 mi away
Sylvan Lake · 4 mi away
Fremont Lake · 6 mi away

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