Crystal Lake fishing: Atlantic Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Lake Whitefish

Target species: Atlantic Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Lake Whitefish, Cisco, Brown Trout, Lake Trout
Boat: 3 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Crystal Lake, 5 lanes.

The lake

Crystal Lake covers 9,891 acres in Michigan, across Benzie County. It is a lake: the deepest point measured is at least 175 feet (53.3 m). Our records hold 6 species for this water.

Michigan's Crystal Lake.jpg
Hgjudd · CC BY-SA 3.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 175 ft (53.3 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. We hold 89 depth contours for this water, drawn from 7,220 soundings.

Crystal Lake Near Bike Trail.jpg
Retaildesigner (talk) · Public domain
  • 0–10 ft: 15.8% of the water
  • 10–20 ft: 10.6% of the water
  • 20–30 ft: 10.1% of the water
  • 30–40 ft: 5.2% of the water
  • 40–50 ft: 4.8% of the water
  • 50–60 ft: 9.4% of the water
  • 60–70 ft: 4.7% of the water
  • 70–80 ft: 3% of the water
  • 80–90 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 90–100 ft: 2.3% of the water
  • 100–110 ft: 2.2% of the water
  • 110–120 ft: 2.3% of the water
  • 120–130 ft: 2.7% of the water
  • 130–140 ft: 3.3% of the water
  • 140–150 ft: 5% of the water
  • 150–160 ft: 16.2% of the water

6 target fish, led by Atlantic Salmon

  • Atlantic Salmon — Feeding water: 45–60°F.
  • Rainbow Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
  • Lake Whitefish — Feeding water: 40–55°F.
  • Cisco — Feeding water: 40–60°F.
  • Brown Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
  • Lake Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.

Stocking: 5,085,598 fish, 1997–2026

Michigan DNR records list 5,085,598 fish released into this water from 1997 to 2026.

Crystal Lake sunset - Flickr - rkramer62.jpg
Rachel Kramer from Grandville, MI, United States · CC BY 2.0
  • Lake Trout: 3,052,837 in 2007–2026
  • Rainbow Trout: 1,689,794 in 2007–2026
  • Brown Trout: 252,552 in 1984–1991
  • Atlantic Salmon: 90,415 in 1986–1992

3 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp and 2 boat ramps.

  • Crystal Lake — 5 lanes, restrooms. Orchard Beach State Park. phone 231-723-7422
  • Crystal Lake Marina — Beulah. 7271 Crystal Drive, Beulah 49617 · phone +1 231 882 7058 · website crystallakemarina.com
  • Crystal Lake Yacht Club — Frankfort. 3491 Pilgrim Highway, Frankfort 49635 · phone +1-231-352-4691 · website clyc.net

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 3 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

Water clarity runs 20–41 feet on our readings, averaging 31 feet, from 67 readings. Our water temperature readings average 59°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.8. These readings span 2017–2023.

What is hard here

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 9,891 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle.

Where this data comes from

  • NOAA National Geodetic Survey / Office for Coastal Management — NOAA topobathymetric lidar DEMs: class A, a survey of the bottom, 2019.
  • NOAA Digital Coast — NOAA Digital Coast bathymetric lidar: class A, a survey of the bottom, 2011.
  • Michigan EGLE — Michigan EGLE: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • NOAA National Bathymetric Source (S-102 ed3.0.0) — NOAA S-102 bathymetric surfaces: 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.