Caribou Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass

Target species: Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Lake Whitefish, Rock Bass, Yellow Perch, Pumpkinseed
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Caribou Lake, 1 lane.

The lake

Caribou Lake covers 830 acres in Michigan, across Chippewa County. It is a lake: 91.4% of it is 9 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 15 feet (4.6 m). Our records hold 9 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Northern Pike

  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Lake Whitefish — Feeding water: 40–55°F.
  • Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • Pumpkinseed — Feeding water: 65–80°F.

Also recorded here: Bluegill, Golden Shiner.

Stocking: 6,305,028 fish, 1979–2026

Michigan DNR records list 6,305,028 fish released into this water from 1979 to 2026.

  • Walleye: 6,279,355 in 1980–2026
  • Bluegill: 10,000 in 1992

One more species on the stocking list.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 15 ft (4.6 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.4% of the water is 9 feet or shallower. We hold 51 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 2.5% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 8.6% of the water
  • 4–5 ft: 11.2% of the water
  • 5–6 ft: 16.8% of the water
  • 6–7 ft: 27.3% of the water
  • 7–8 ft: 17.4% of the water
  • 8–9 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 9–11 ft: 7.2% of the water
  • 11–13 ft: 0.8% of the water
  • 13–15 ft: 0.7% of the water

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

  • Caribou Lake — 1 lane, restrooms. DeTour State Harbor. phone 906-297-5947 · website mcgi.state.mi.us/mrbis/BASDetail.aspx?sid=A-17-010

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

With 91.4% of the water 9 feet or less, low level turns the flats into hazards. 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.