Lake Herring Fishing Guide, 113 Best-Graded Lakes

Lake Herring is a rough-fish species — typically common in productive, nutrient-rich lakes, sometimes treated as a management nuisance by anglers targeting game-fish. 113 lakes carry documentation. Lake Herring is moderately distributed — 113 lakes in Michigan. Some counties have it, others do not, so checking the per-lake pages matters.

Rough-fish-dominant lakes are worth checking the grade on: a rough-fish-heavy fishery often reflects an underlying nutrient-loading problem in the watershed. Cross-reference the Lake Herring lake list below against the letter grades: lakes with both an A or B grade and Lake Herring documented are the best places to start for recreational targeting.

Lake Herring Seasonal Forecast & Techniques

Part of the LakeQuality Fishing Forecast. Spawn trigger: Late-fall spawner in the shallows; a cold, oxygen-rich-water indicator and key trophy forage. Forage: Zooplankton; itself the forage that grows trophy pike, muskie, and lake trout. For a forecast tuned to a specific lake's measured clarity and depth, open that lake's forecast.

Season	Where they hold	Structure & cover	Technique
Spring	deep/suspended	suspends in the cold basin	not commonly targeted
Summer	deep near thermocline	cold oxygenated layer	small jigs/flies where legal
Fall	shallow late fall	moves shallow to spawn	small spoons and jigs
Winter / Ice	15–40 ft	suspended over the basin	tiny spoons and jigs — a fun ice target

Clear-water tactics:tiny jigs & spoons for suspended fishStained-water tactics:n/a — cisco signal clean, well-oxygenated water

Cisco presence indicates a healthy, cold, oxygen-rich lake; sensitive to warming.

113

Total Lakes

113

Michigan lakes →

Avg. Grade

71 ft

Avg. Depth

Water Quality of Lake Herring Lakes

16%

Best Lake Herring Lakes by Water Quality

Top 50 lakes with lake herring ranked by overall water quality grade.

Rank	Lake	County	State	Grade	Depth	Species
1	Ore Lake	Livingston	MI	A	81 ft	14
2	Louis Lake	Dickinson	MI	A	-	2
3	Indian Lake	Kalamazoo	MI	A	75 ft	1
4	Duck Lake	Muskegon	MI	A	-	22
5	Big Blue Lake	Kalkaska	MI	A	-	17
6	Murray Lake	Kent	MI	A	-	29
7	Hubbard Lake	Alcona	MI	A	80 ft	2
8	Crystal Lake	Washtenaw	MI	A	-	16
9	Big Twin Lake	Kalkaska	MI	A	-	9
10	Coldwater Lake	Isabella	MI	A	-	1
11	Big Bass Lake	Lake	MI	A	-	1
12	Little Bass Lake	Lake	MI	A	-	1
13	Crystal Lake	Hillsdale	MI	A	-	16
14	Otter Lake	Benzie	MI	A	-	30
15	Twin Lakes	Oakland	MI	A	-	7
16	Twin Lakes	Crawford	MI	A	-	7
17	Loon Lake	Benzie	MI	A	-	13
18	Lime Lake	Benzie	MI	A	25 ft	15
19	Smoky Lake	Iron	MI	B	-	1
20	Lake Richie	Keweenaw	MI	B	-	11
21	Bass Lake	Leelanau	MI	B	-	13
22	Beaver Lake	Keweenaw	MI	B	-	16
23	Siskiwit Lake	Keweenaw	MI	B	-	2
24	Cedar Is Lake	Oakland	MI	B	-	1
25	Pleasant Lake	Oakland	MI	B	-	11
26	Walloon Lake	Emmet	MI	B	-	20
27	Indian Lake	Gogebic	MI	C	-	2
28	Tull Lake	Oakland	MI	C	-	1
29	Indian Lake	Kalamazoo	MI	C	-	1
30	South Pond	Chippewa	MI	D	-	6
31	Glen Lake	Leelanau	MI	NR	130 ft	1
32	Beaver Lake	Alpena	MI	NR	70 ft	2
33	Lake Leelanau	Leelanau	MI	NR	62 ft	1
34	Torch Lake	Antrim	MI	NR	250 ft	3
35	Crooked Lake	Barry	MI	NR	-	27
36	Indian Lake	Kalkaska	MI	NR	-	2
37	Lake Ann	Benzie	MI	NR	75 ft	10
38	Long Lake	Gogebic	MI	NR	60 ft	40
39	Fish Lake	Van Buren	MI	NR	20 ft	1
40	Corey Lake	St. Joseph	MI	NR	-	13
41	Pleasant Lake	Wexford	MI	NR	10 ft	11
42	Mary Lake	Dickinson	MI	NR	80 ft	1
43	Shavehead Lake	Cass	MI	NR	70 ft	25
44	Lotus Lake	Oakland	MI	NR	117 ft	1
45	Oxbow Lake	Oakland	MI	NR	72 ft	1
46	Deer Lake	Oakland	MI	NR	63 ft	1
47	Birch Lake	Cass	MI	NR	80 ft	2
48	Green Oak Lake	Livingston	MI	NR	42 ft	1
49	Shavehead Lake	Cass	MI	NR	70 ft	26
50	Brevoort Lake	Mackinac	MI	NR	-	15

Showing top 50 of 113 lakes with lake herring.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many lakes have lake herring?

Lake Herring are found in 113 graded lakes: 113 in Michigan. The average water quality grade of lakes with lake herring is B (Good).

What are the best lakes for lake herring?

The best lake herring lakes by water quality are Ore Lake, Louis Lake, Indian Lake, Duck Lake, Big Blue Lake. These lakes have the highest water quality grades among all lakes where lake herring have been documented by state DNR surveys.

What other fish are found with lake herring?

Lake Herring are most commonly found alongside lake herring, yellow perch, largemouth bass, bluegill, bluntnose minnow. These species share similar habitat preferences in the region's lakes.

Other Fish Species in Lake Herring Lakes

Yellow Perch Lakes

Found together in 51 lakes · 1,577 total

Largemouth Bass Lakes

Found together in 46 lakes · 2,489 total

Bluegill Lakes

Found together in 45 lakes · 1,550 total

Bluntnose Minnow Lakes

Found together in 44 lakes · 160 total

White Sucker Lakes

Found together in 40 lakes · 1,211 total

Pumpkinseed Lakes

Found together in 39 lakes · 1,328 total

Fish species from state agency survey, stocking, and public fishing-access records; water-quality grades from the EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys. Species profiles are general reference; always check current state regulations before fishing.