Lake Independence fishing: Northern Pike, Walleye, Cisco
Target species: Northern Pike, Walleye, Cisco, Black Crappie, Bluegill
The lake
Lake Independence covers 2,053 acres in Michigan, across Marquette County. It is a lake: 97% of it is 28 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 30 feet (9.1 m). Our records hold 6 species for this water.
5 target fish, led by Northern Pike
- Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Cisco — Feeding water: 40–60°F.
- Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
- Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
Also recorded here: Brown Trout.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: at least 30 ft (9.1 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 97% of the water is 28 feet or shallower. We hold 24 depth contour lines for this water.
- 0–2 ft: 6% of the water
- 2–4 ft: 7% of the water
- 4–6 ft: 13.4% of the water
- 6–8 ft: 7.2% of the water
- 8–10 ft: 6.2% of the water
- 10–12 ft: 5.4% of the water
- 12–14 ft: 4.5% of the water
- 14–16 ft: 3.7% of the water
- 16–18 ft: 3.7% of the water
- 18–20 ft: 4.2% of the water
- 20–22 ft: 4.6% of the water
- 22–24 ft: 5.6% of the water
- 24–26 ft: 11.2% of the water
- 26–28 ft: 14.3% of the water
- 28–30 ft: 3% of the water
Water and conditions
Water clarity runs 7–12 feet on our readings, averaging 8.7 feet, from 91 readings. Our water temperature readings average 69°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2017–2023.
Stocking: 156,897 fish, 1991–2022
Michigan DNR records list 156,897 fish released into this water from 1991 to 2022. The latest stocking on record is from 2022, more than three years ago.
- Walleye: 145,575 in 1994–2022
- Bluegill: 6,000 in 1998
- Black Crappie: 5,300 in 1998
- Northern Pike: 22 in 1991
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.
