Lake Michigamme fishing: Muskellunge, Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout

Target species: Muskellunge, Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Walleye, Brook Trout, Lake Whitefish, Lake Trout
Boat: 3 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Lake Michigamme, 2 lanes.

The lake

Lake Michigamme covers 4,276 acres in Michigan, across 2 counties: Marquette and Baraga. It is a lake: 92.7% of it is 60 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 70 feet (21.3 m). Our records hold 8 species for this water.

Lake Michigamme - panoramio (9).jpg
Helman34 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 70 ft (21.3 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 92.7% of the water is 60 feet or shallower. We hold 153 depth contour lines for this water.

Lake Michigamme - panoramio (6).jpg
Helman34 · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • 0–5 ft: 3.4% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 6.6% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 8.7% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 7.8% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 7.2% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 7.3% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 9.5% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 10.1% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 6.6% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 7% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 10.4% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 8.1% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 6.1% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 1.3% of the water

7 target fish, led by Muskellunge

  • Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Rainbow Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Brook Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
  • Lake Whitefish — Feeding water: 40–55°F.
  • Lake Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.

Also recorded here: Yellow Perch.

Lake Michigamme - panoramio (15).jpg
Helman34 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Stocking: 5,309,113 fish, 1979–2024

Michigan DNR records list 5,309,113 fish released into this water from 1979 to 2024.

  • Walleye: 4,455,783 in 1983–2002
  • Lake Trout: 383,305 in 2000–2005
  • Smallmouth Bass: 140,220 in 1984–1998
  • Brook Trout: 81,769 in 2000–2005
  • Rainbow Trout: 56,490 in 2002
  • Yellow Perch: 43,241 in 1983–1984
  • Muskellunge: 9,516 in 2022–2024

2 more species on the stocking list.

3 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 3 trailer ramps.

  • Lake Michigamme — 2 lanes, open 4am–11pm, restrooms. Van Riper State Park. phone 906-339-4461 · website mcgi.state.mi.us/mrbis/BASDetail.aspx?sid=A-52-011
  • Michigamme Township Park — 1 lane. Michigamme Township. phone 906-323-6608 · website mcgi.state.mi.us/mrbis/BASDetail.aspx?sid=A-07-027
  • Van Riper State Park — 1 lane, open 8am–10pm, restrooms. Van Riper State Park. phone 906-339-4461 · website mcgi.state.mi.us/mrbis/BASDetail.aspx?sid=A-52-055

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.

What is hard here

Only 3 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.