Lake · Leelanau, Michigan
Lake Leelanau
At a glance
- Area
- 3,486 ha (8,615 acres)
- Mean depth (estimated)
- ≈ 7.1 m (23 ft)
Mean depth: HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016)
This lake's year
A ring of the twelve months, January at the top: the outer band is the ice cover, the inner rings the spawning months of the lake's species, and a needle marks the day this page was updated. The list beside it says the same.
- No published ice dates for this lake.
- 1. Lake trout spawns: Sep–Nov (months cited for Great Lakes populations)
- Needle: Oct 25, the day this page was updated
Spawning months from each species' cited source for this region, for its five best-recorded species here; ice dates from the published record (sources below). Summer layering and fall turnover are drawn only for lakes the USGS has modelled (in the U.S. Midwest).
Who lives here
- Lake trout Salvelinus namaycushStocked · 2026 · Fish stocking: Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Fish Stocking Database)
Not listed doesn't mean no fish.
Stocking
| Year | Species | Stage | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 2026 | Lake trout | 9,397 | |
| Apr 14, 2025 | Lake trout | 8,592 | |
| Apr 10, 2024 | Lake trout | 8,250 | |
| Apr 11, 2023 | Lake trout | 7,898 | |
| Oct 13, 2022 | Lake trout | 64,097 | |
| Apr 22, 2022 | Lake trout | 8,249 | |
| Apr 1, 2021 | Lake trout | 7,919 | |
| Mar 31, 2020 | Lake trout | 8,018 | |
| Oct 25, 2019 | Lake trout | 10,000 | |
| Oct 25, 2019 | Lake trout | 9,998 | |
| Apr 17, 2019 | Lake trout | 5,791 | |
| Apr 17, 2019 | Lake trout | 628 | |
| Apr 30, 2018 | Lake trout | 18,330 | |
| Apr 11, 2017 | Lake trout | 8,091 | |
| Apr 26, 2016 | Lake trout | 2,019 | |
| Apr 11, 2016 | Lake trout | 5,031 |
As the agency publishes it. Newest first: 16 of 16.
Getting on the water
- Lake Leelanau WestBoat launch · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
- The NarrowsBoat launch · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
- Lake Leelanau EastBoat launch · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Listed by public agencies. A listed site doesn't make the water or its shore open to fishing: when in doubt, it's unknown. Check signs and local rules.
The rules
Summary, not the law. Check the official regulations before you fish.
HuntGrid has no rules for this water yet.
Official regulations: Michigan Department of Natural Resources
What's biting
Not enough anglers have shared catches here lately. A species shows for a week once at least 5 anglers share catches of it.
From anglers who chose to share their catches in HuntGrid Fishing, each counted once, counts rounded to the nearest 5, published 3 days after the week ends and never changed. Never a spot, time or name.
About this page
Sources and licences:
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Hydrography Dataset Plus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR); U.S. Census Bureau, TIGER/Line® Shapefiles 2025: counties and states · Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. §105)
- Lake mean depth: HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016, Nature Communications 7:13603), CC BY 4.0 · CC BY 4.0
- Fish stocking: Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Fish Stocking Database) · State of Michigan open data terms (https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=fc7739be5f5247e7bf7f2c6bc9471140, read 2026-10-19): "This dataset is a public record and, as more fully described below, there are no restrictions on the use, reproduction, or distribution of this dataset." The terms also carry a release of claims and an unlimited indemnity, accepted under the owner's 2026-10-19 rule. Credit the agency; remove the layer if the agency asks.
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources · No restrictions on the use, reproduction, or distribution (State of Michigan public record)
- Michigan DNR, Institute for Fisheries Research · Public record: no restrictions on use, reproduction or distribution (State of Michigan open data terms, provided as is)
Spawning months:
- Lake trout: Marcus, M.D., W.A. Hubert and S.H. Anderson. 1984. Habitat suitability index models: Lake trout (exclusive of the Great Lakes). U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. FWS/OBS-82/10.84 (habitat use information: temperature that cues spawning (varies by lake)); p. 3 (spawning months: Great Lakes, New York, New Hampshire, Maine; mid-August to mid-September in Great Bear and Great Slave lakes)
The outline is drawn from the official water data credited above, without a basemap. These pages show no angler's catches, spots or tracks.