Pontiac Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Yellow Perch
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Pontiac Lake, 4 lanes.

The lake

Pontiac Lake covers 633 acres in Michigan, across Oakland County. It is a lake: 91.8% of it is 20 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 34 feet (10.4 m). Our records hold 9 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.

Also recorded here: Common Carp, Fathead Minnow.

Stocking: 2,008,193 fish, 1979–2026

Michigan DNR records list 2,008,193 fish released into this water from 1979 to 2026.

  • Northern Pike: 1,204,289 in 1982–1986
  • Walleye: 397,017 in 1990–2026
  • Fathead Minnow: 355,256 in 1982
  • Channel Catfish: 37,014 in 1982–2012
  • Largemouth Bass: 6,105 in 1982–1983
  • Black Crappie: 3,789 in 1982
  • Bluegill: 2,159 in 1982
  • Yellow Perch: 164 in 1982

One more species on the stocking list.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 34 ft (10.4 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.8% of the water is 20 feet or shallower. We hold 41 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 30.8% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 21.4% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 13.6% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 7% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 5.1% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 3.6% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 3% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 2.4% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 2.3% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 2.7% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 1.4% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 1.2% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 1.2% of the water
  • 28–30 ft: 1.4% of the water
  • 30–32 ft: 0.5% of the water

2 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 2 trailer ramps.

  • Pontiac Lake — 4 lanes, open 8am–10pm, restrooms. Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area. phone 248-666-1020
  • Tackles — 1 lane, restrooms. Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area. phone 248-666-1020

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 2 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 2 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.