Michigan holds more inland lakes than almost any other state. Browse 1,255 lakes, 78,128 DNR stocking events, and 149 fish species — organized across all 83 counties.
Iron County leads all Michigan counties with 95 lakes on record. The Upper Peninsula as a whole contains some of the most remote and least-pressured fishing water in the Midwest.
Allegan County has the highest stocking activity in Michigan with 4,355 recorded events across 19 lakes — going back to 1979. Allegan, Antrim, and Cheboygan counties consistently rank among the top stocked in the state.
Allegan County has the most walleye stocking events on record with 941 documented stockings. Walleye thrive across both the Upper and Lower Peninsula — look for large, shallow lakes and river systems with good structure.
Allegan County tops the list for trout stocking with 2,999 combined events across brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, lake trout, and steelhead. The Northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula are renowned for their cold-water trout streams and rivers.
The Michigan DNR manages several state fish hatcheries that raise and distribute fish across the state each year. Stocking is determined by habitat suitability, species management goals, and angler demand. Records are maintained for every stocking event by lake and county going back to 1979. You can view the full stocking history for any county or individual lake on this site.
Michigan Fishing tracks 1,255 lakes and water bodies across all 83 counties, of which over 1,250 have at least one DNR stocking record on file. The full database covers 78,128 individual stocking events dating back to 1979.