Lake Macatawa fishing: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Muskellunge

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Muskellunge, Lake Trout
Boat: 5 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Lake Macatawa, 6 lanes.

The lake

Lake Macatawa covers 1,807 acres in Michigan, across Ottawa County. It is a lake: 90% of it is 18 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 40 feet (12.2 m). Our records hold 7 species for this water.

Lake Macatawa 2009.jpg
brewbooks · CC BY-SA 2.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 40 ft (12.2 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 90% of the water is 18 feet or shallower. We hold 167 depth contours for this water, drawn from 2,051 soundings.

Holland Harbor Lighthouse (7982752766).jpg
Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • 0–2 ft: 11.7% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 12.2% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 10.1% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 9.9% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 9.6% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 9.2% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 10.8% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 10.3% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 6.2% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 6.2% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 2.7% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 0.6% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 0.4% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 0.2% of the water

Stocking: 35,870,043 fish, 1992–2026

Michigan DNR records list 35,870,043 fish released into this water from 1992 to 2026.

Macatawa.jpg
The original uploader was Triphook at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Walleye: 34,478,751 in 2000–2026
  • Muskellunge: 579,552 in 1979–2024
  • Lake Trout: 242,146 in 2010–2017
  • Largemouth Bass: 26,372 in 1980–1992

2 more species on the stocking list.

4 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Lake Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.

Also recorded here: Flathead Catfish, White Bass, White Perch.

5 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps and 3 boat ramps.

  • Lake Macatawa — 6 lanes, open 4am–11pm, restrooms. Holland, Holland State Park. 1866 Ottawa Beach Road, Holland 49424 · phone 616-399-9390 · website yachtbasinmarina.com
  • Kollen Park — 3 lanes.
  • Anchorage Marina & Yacht Club — Holland. 1800 Ottawa Beach Road, Holland 49424 · phone +1-616-399-1802
  • Eldean Shipyard — Macatawa. 2223 South Shore Drive, Macatawa 49434 · phone +1 616 335 5843 · website eldean.com
  • Macatawa Bay Yacht Club — Macatawa. 2157 South Shore Drive, Macatawa 49434 · phone +1-616-335-5815 · website mbyc.com

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 5 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.

What is hard here

Only 5 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish.

Where this data comes from

  • USACE eHydro — USACE eHydro channel surveys: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • NOAA ENC — NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts: soundings: 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.
  • Michigan EGLE — Michigan EGLE: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • NOAA ENC — NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • NOAA National Geodetic Survey / Office for Coastal Management — NOAA topobathymetric lidar DEMs: class A, a survey of the bottom, 2020.
  • 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.