Big Star Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Sucker, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Big Star Lake, 2 lanes.

The lake

Big Star Lake covers 877 acres in Michigan, across Lake County. It is a lake: the deepest point measured is at least 25 feet (7.6 m). Our records hold 10 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.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.

Also recorded here: Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Yellow Bullhead.

Stocking: 600,682 fish, 1980–2025

Michigan DNR records list 600,682 fish released into this water from 1980 to 2025.

  • Walleye: 556,685 in 1991–2025

One more species on the stocking list.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 25 ft (7.6 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. We hold 67 depth contour lines for this water.

Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP 2022
USDA Farm Service Agency, NAIP 2022 aerial imagery (USGS The National Map) · Public domain
  • 0–2 ft: 8.9% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 7.3% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 7.4% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 7.8% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 8.9% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 6.1% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 4.5% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 4.3% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 4.3% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 4.6% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 5.6% of the water
  • 24–25 ft: 25.6% of the water

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 7–11 feet on our readings, averaging 8.8 feet, from 164 readings. Our water temperature readings average 75°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2017–2022. The latest reading is from 2022, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

  • Big Star Lake — 2 lanes, restrooms. Baldwin Field Office (PRD). phone 231-745-9465

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.
  • 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.