How deep is Swains Lake?

Swains Lake is more than 60 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 60 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.

Where is the deepest part of Swains Lake?

The deepest charted water on Swains Lake lies inside the 60 ft contour, toward the southwestern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 3.2 acres, 9.1% 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 Swains Lake is shallower than 30 feet?

About half. The 30 ft contour encloses 17 acres of the roughly 35 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 30 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 5 acres.

How accurate is this Swains 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

Swains Lake depth map

Swains Lake in Jackson County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 60 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Swains Lake is charted here across 12 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 60 ft, enclosing about 35 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

Swains Lake depth chart: 12 depth contours from 5 to 60 ft

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

Swains Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
5 ft	35 acres	100%
10 ft	30 acres	87%
15 ft	26 acres	76%
20 ft	24 acres	68%
25 ft	21 acres	59%
30 ft	17 acres	49%
35 ft	15 acres	42%
40 ft	13 acres	36%
45 ft	11 acres	31%
50 ft	9.2 acres	27%
55 ft	6.5 acres	19%
60 ft	3.2 acres	9.1%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 35 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.

Fishing Swains Lake: a stepped drop into deep water

Inside its outermost 5 ft contour the survey charts about 35 acres of Swains Lake, with the 30 ft line enclosing half of it, so the bottom steps down contour by contour into the deep basin rather than shelving flat or plunging all at once. The sharpest change on the chart is between 5 and 10 ft, where the mapped water loses 5 acres in 5 ft of depth, that band is the contour to work first, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. 3.2 acres, 9.1% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 60 ft contour, toward the southwestern corner of the lake. At 60 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-30 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 Swains Lake

Deep water like Swains 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 60 ft hole. That edge is the 5–10 ft band on the chart above, where 5 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-30 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Swains Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Swains Lake?: Swains Lake is more than 60 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 60 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.
Where is the deepest part of Swains Lake?: The deepest charted water on Swains Lake lies inside the 60 ft contour, toward the southwestern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 3.2 acres, 9.1% 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 Swains Lake is shallower than 30 feet?: About half. The 30 ft contour encloses 17 acres of the roughly 35 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 30 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 5 acres.
How accurate is this Swains 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 Swains Lake

Farewell Lake depth map · 43+ ft max · 10 mi away
Silver Lake depth map · 26 ft max · 19 mi away
Hemlock Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 19 mi away
Marble Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 21 mi away
Devils Lake depth map · 63 ft max · 22 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Swains Lake

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

Farewell Lake · 10 mi away
Silver Lake · 19 mi away
Hemlock Lake · 19 mi away

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