Beaufort Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, White Sucker, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Beaufort Lake State Forest Campground, 1 lane.

The lake

Beaufort Lake covers 471 acres in Michigan, across Baraga County. It is a lake: 93.8% of it is 28 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 30 feet (9.1 m). Our records hold 9 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Northern Pike

  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.

Also recorded here: Mottled Sculpin, Golden Shiner.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 30 ft (9.1 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. EPA NLA measured 36.7 ft (11.2 m) at one sampling site: that is not the maximum of the water. 93.8% of the water is 28 feet or shallower. We hold 45 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 2.7% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 9.1% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 18.3% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 9.2% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 8.3% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 7.2% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 4.3% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 4% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 3.9% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 4.1% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 4.5% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 5.5% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 5.1% of the water
  • 28–30 ft: 6.3% of the water

Stocking: 437,822 fish, 1979–2003

Michigan DNR records list 437,822 fish released into this water from 1979 to 2003. The latest stocking on record is from 2003, more than three years ago.

Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP 2022
USDA Farm Service Agency, NAIP 2022 aerial imagery (USGS The National Map) · Public domain
  • Walleye: 425,495 in 1979–2003
  • Yellow Perch: 12,055 in 1991–1993
  • Smallmouth Bass: 272 in 1983

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

  • Beaufort Lake State Forest Campground — 1 lane. Van Riper State Park. phone 906-339-4461 · website mcgi.state.mi.us/mrbis/BASDetail.aspx?sid=A-07-014

The place listed has no fee or opening hours on file: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

What is hard here

Only 1 public ramp is on file, so the launch decides where you fish.

Where this data comes from

  • Michigan EGLE — Michigan EGLE: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.