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Best burbot lakes in Michigan

188 Michigan waters hold burbot, 184 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The freshwater cod that feeds at night under the ice — ugly, delicious and wildly underrated.

1. Lake Huron — Sunrise Coast — 437 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch, Steelhead
2. Lake Superior — Marquette Shore — 798 ft max · Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead, Lake Trout
3. Lake Superior — Keweenaw Peninsula — 850 ft max · Coho Salmon, Steelhead, Lake Trout, Brook Trout
4. Osterhout Lake — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
5. Blue Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
6. Ben-way Lake — 42 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
7. Drum Lake — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Bluegill
8. Perch Lake — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Bluegill
9. Horseshoe Lake — 44 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
10. Gooseneck Lake — 35 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
11. Boot Lake — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch
12. Third Fortune Lake — 55 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
13. Fish Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Bluegill
14. Steuben Lake — 55 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
15. Rush Lake — 58 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
16. Stager Lake — 55 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
17. Marion, Lake — 52 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
18. Pine Lake — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
19. Clear Lake — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Bluegill
20. Bass Lake — 74 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
21. Angeline, Lake — 162 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout
22. Maston Lake — 46 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
23. Upper Jeptha Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
24. Pickerel Lake — 43 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Bluegill
25. Winfield Lake — 57 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie

…plus 163 more Michigan waters holding burbot.

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When to fish burbot in Michigan

• Spring 25–70 ft — Post-spawn burbot slide back toward deep basins but still run shallow rock after dark.
• Summer 50–120 ft — Deep and sluggish in warm months — mostly a bycatch while jigging deep structure for lake trout.
• Fall 30–80 ft — Feeding picks up hard as the water cools — dead bait or glow spoons on deep rock at night.
• Winter 15–60 ft — Late-winter spawners stack on rock humps and shoals — glow jigs pounded on bottom after dark.

Also in Michigan: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best white bass lakes · best sauger lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best freshwater drum lakes · best common carp lakes · best longnose gar lakes · best chinook salmon lakes · best coho salmon lakes · best steelhead lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best rock bass lakes · best white perch lakes · best cisco (lake herring) lakes · best splake lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes · best brown bullhead lakes · best lake sturgeon lakes

Burbot elsewhere: Ontario · Minnesota · Québec · New Hampshire · Montana · Wyoming · Alaska · Manitoba · Alberta