Black Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, White Sucker, Pumpkinseed
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Black Lake State Forest Campground, 1 lane.

The lake

Black Lake covers 10,134 acres in Michigan, across Cheboygan County. It is a lake: the deepest point measured is at least 50 feet (15.2 m). Our records hold 9 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • White Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Pumpkinseed — Feeding water: 65–80°F.

Also recorded here: Longnose Gar, Brown Bullhead.

Black lake by hakem fateh.jpg
Hakem1997 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Stocking: 4,698,882 fish, 1982–2026

Michigan DNR records list 4,698,882 fish released into this water from 1982 to 2026.

  • Walleye: 4,680,771 in 1989–2026

One more species on the stocking list.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 50 ft (15.2 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. We hold 39 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–3 ft: 3.6% of the water
  • 3–6 ft: 4.1% of the water
  • 6–9 ft: 5.6% of the water
  • 9–12 ft: 9.7% of the water
  • 12–15 ft: 3.9% of the water
  • 15–18 ft: 3.1% of the water
  • 18–21 ft: 3% of the water
  • 21–24 ft: 2.4% of the water
  • 24–27 ft: 4.1% of the water
  • 27–30 ft: 5.2% of the water
  • 30–33 ft: 5.4% of the water
  • 33–36 ft: 5.4% of the water
  • 36–39 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 39–42 ft: 8% of the water
  • 42–45 ft: 6.5% of the water
  • 45–48 ft: 8.6% of the water
  • 48–50 ft: 16.8% of the water

2 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps.

  • Black Lake State Forest Campground — 1 lane, restrooms. Cheboygan State Park. phone 231-627-2811
  • Onaway State Park - Black Lake — 1 lane, open 8am–10pm. Onaway State Park. phone 989-733-8279

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 2 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 71°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2022–2023.

What is hard here

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 10,134 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle. Only 2 public ramps are 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.