Spring Lake fishing: Flathead Catfish, Shortnose Gar, White Perch

Target species: Flathead Catfish, Shortnose Gar, White Perch
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Petty's Bayou, 2 lanes.

The lake

Spring Lake covers 1,094 acres in Michigan, across Ottawa County. It is a lake: 94.1% of it is 33 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is 42 feet (12.8 m). Our records hold 6 species for this water.

19??-0?-?? ?? ?? ?? View east across Spring Lake from the dock at 88 Lake Road in Berlin, Rensselaer County, New York during sunrise.jpg
Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0

Depth: down to 42 ft at the deepest measured point

Deepest measured point: 42 ft (12.8 m). 94.1% of the water is 33 feet or shallower. We hold 291 depth contours for this water, drawn from 1,171 soundings.

West across Spring Lake, Spring Lake, Utah, May 16.jpg
An Errant Knight · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • 0–3 ft: 19.7% of the water
  • 3–6 ft: 12.7% of the water
  • 6–9 ft: 10% of the water
  • 9–12 ft: 9.4% of the water
  • 12–15 ft: 8.3% of the water
  • 15–18 ft: 6.4% of the water
  • 18–21 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 21–24 ft: 6.2% of the water
  • 24–27 ft: 5.2% of the water
  • 27–30 ft: 5.2% of the water
  • 30–33 ft: 5.2% of the water
  • 33–36 ft: 4% of the water
  • 36–39 ft: 1.9% of the water

3 target fish, led by Flathead Catfish

  • Flathead Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Shortnose Gar — Feeding water: 65–80°F.
  • White Perch — Feeding water: 50–75°F.

Also recorded here: Common Carp, Gizzard Shad, Alewife.

Spring Lake Aerial View.jpg
Galliganry · CC BY-SA 4.0

2 ramps and launches on this water

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

  • Petty's Bayou — 2 lanes, open 4am–11pm, restrooms. Hoffmaster State Park. phone 231-798-3711 · website mcgi.state.mi.us/MRBIS/BASDetail.aspx?basid=A-70-002
  • Barrett Boat Works — Spring Lake. 821 West Savidge Street, Spring Lake 49456 · phone +1 616 842 1202 · website barrettboatworks.com

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

  • 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.
  • NOAA ENC — NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts: 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.