How deep is Upper Straits Lake?

Upper Straits Lake is at least 96 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 80 ft contour, and the water may run deeper still.

Where is the deepest part of Upper Straits Lake?

The deepest charted water on Upper Straits Lake lies inside the 80 ft contour, toward the eastern side of the lake. That contour encloses 5.8 acres, 2.9% 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 Upper Straits Lake is shallower than 30 feet?

About half. The 30 ft contour encloses 100 acres of the roughly 201 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 30 feet. The sharpest drop is between 20 and 30 feet, where the mapped water sheds 61 acres.

How accurate is this Upper Straits 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

Upper Straits Lake depth map

Upper Straits Lake in Oakland County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 96 feet at its deepest surveyed sounding. Upper Straits Lake is charted here across 8 closed depth contours, from the 10 ft line down to 80 ft, enclosing about 201 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 30 ft line, and only 5.8 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

Upper Straits Lake depth chart: 8 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

Upper Straits Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
10 ft	201 acres	100%
20 ft	161 acres	80%
30 ft	100 acres	50%
40 ft	65 acres	33%
50 ft	40 acres	20%
60 ft	24 acres	12%
70 ft	13 acres	6.6%
80 ft	5.8 acres	2.9%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 201 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 96 ft sounding, marked as a point rather than a closed contour, so it is not charted as a band.

Fishing Upper Straits Lake: a wide shallow flat over a deep hole

About 201 acres of Upper Straits Lake sit inside the survey's 10 ft contour, and half of that water is already gone by the 30 ft line: most of this Oakland County water is shallow and the depth is concentrated in one part of the basin. The steepest break on the chart runs from 20 down to 30 ft: 61 acres of bottom fall away across 10 ft there, which makes that band the first contour to work. 5.8 acres, 2.9% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 80 ft contour, toward the eastern side of the lake. At 96 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 20–30 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Upper Straits Lake

Deep water like Upper Straits 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 80 ft hole. That edge is the 20–30 ft band on the chart above, where 61 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.

Upper Straits Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Upper Straits Lake?: Upper Straits Lake is at least 96 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 80 ft contour, and the water may run deeper still.
Where is the deepest part of Upper Straits Lake?: The deepest charted water on Upper Straits Lake lies inside the 80 ft contour, toward the eastern side of the lake. That contour encloses 5.8 acres, 2.9% 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 Upper Straits Lake is shallower than 30 feet?: About half. The 30 ft contour encloses 100 acres of the roughly 201 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 30 feet. The sharpest drop is between 20 and 30 feet, where the mapped water sheds 61 acres.
How accurate is this Upper Straits 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 Upper Straits Lake

Green Lake depth map · 72 ft max · 1 mi away
Orchard Lake depth map · 111 ft max · 1 mi away
Middle Straits Lake depth map · 55 ft max · 2 mi away
Cass Lake depth map · 123+ ft max · 3 mi away
Union Lake depth map · 110 ft max · 3 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Upper Straits Lake

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

Green Lake · 1 mi away
Orchard Lake · 1 mi away
Middle Straits Lake · 2 mi away

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