Lake · Otsego, Michigan
Otsego Lake
At a glance
- Area
- 815 ha (2,013 acres)
- Mean depth (estimated)
- ≈ 8.3 m (27 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 sturgeon spawns: Apr–Jul (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 sturgeon Acipenser fulvescensStocked · 2025 · Fish stocking: Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Fish Stocking Database)
- Muskellunge Esox masquinongyStocked · 2026 · Fish stocking: Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Fish Stocking Database)
- Northern pike Esox luciusStocked · 2016 · Fish stocking: Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Fish Stocking Database)
- Walleye Sander vitreusStocked · 2026 · Fish stocking: Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Fish Stocking Database)
Not listed doesn't mean no fish.
Stocking
| Year | Species | Stage | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 2026 | Muskellunge | 621 | |
| Apr 22, 2026 | Walleye | 1,244,000 | |
| Aug 1, 2025 | Lake sturgeon | 325 | |
| Jun 11, 2024 | Walleye | 377 | |
| Jun 11, 2024 | Walleye | 12,924 | |
| Jun 11, 2024 | Walleye | 37,459 | |
| Oct 26, 2022 | Muskellunge | 3,231 | |
| Sep 27, 2022 | Lake sturgeon | 4 | |
| Jun 28, 2022 | Walleye | 11,904 | |
| Jun 16, 2022 | Walleye | 9,235 | |
| Jun 15, 2022 | Walleye | 27,101 | |
| Oct 25, 2021 | Muskellunge | 2,958 | |
| Apr 26, 2021 | Lake sturgeon | 464 | |
| Oct 21, 2019 | Lake sturgeon | 1 | |
| Oct 8, 2019 | Lake sturgeon | 33 | |
| Oct 8, 2019 | Lake sturgeon | 17 | |
| Oct 31, 2018 | Lake sturgeon | 3 | |
| Oct 31, 2018 | Muskellunge | 2,957 | |
| Aug 22, 2018 | Lake sturgeon | 189 | |
| Jul 10, 2018 | Lake sturgeon | 244 |
As the agency publishes it. Newest first: 20 of 27.
Getting on the water
- Otsego Lake State ParkBoat launch · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
- Otsego Lake County ParkBoat launch · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
- Otsego LakeFishing pier · 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 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 sturgeon: Goodyear, C.D., T.A. Edsall, D.M. Ormsby Dempsey, G.D. Moss, and P.E. Polanski. 1982. Atlas of the spawning and nursery areas of Great Lakes fishes, Volume XIII: Reproductive characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. FWS/OBS-82/52, p. 4 (Great Lakes populations: spawning April-July at 48-70 °F, usually May and June at 57-60 °F)
The outline is drawn from the official water data credited above, without a basemap. These pages show no angler's catches, spots or tracks.