Glen Lake
MI · Leelanau
- Stocked
- 6,293 acres mapped (USGS NHD)
- 17.3 miles of shoreline
The pin marks the middle of the water, for directions. The shoreline on the map comes from USGS NHD.
At a glance
- Acres
- 6,293 acres
- Shoreline
- 17.3 miles of shoreline
- County
- Leelanau County
- Last stocked
- April 15, 2026
- Species
- Lake trout, Rainbow trout
Conditions
Loading forecast...
Overview
Glen Lake (4,865 acres) and Little Glen Lake (1,450 acres) are the main basins of a chain in Leelanau County that drains through Fisher Lake and the Crystal River into Sleeping Bear Bay on Lake Michigan. Glen Lake is clear and deep, up to 130 feet, while Little Glen is shallow, up to 13 feet. Michigan DNR's 2010 report calls Glen Lake one of the better inland lakes in Michigan for lake trout, a fishery based largely on stocking, and notes that lake trout and smallmouth bass grow well above the state average. Yellow perch are the mainstay of both lakes, with fishing for them popular year-round. Smallmouth bass are abundant, rock bass and lake herring are common, rainbow trout are supported by stocking, and coho salmon reproduce naturally. Rainbow smelt are fished through the ice. The one public boat launch on the chain is the DNR access site on Little Glen Lake, off Day Forest Road. Old Settlers County Park on Glen Lake and Glen Lake Beach Park on Little Glen add day-use access.
Regulations
Hatlem Creek and the Crystal River are designated trout streams with their own rules. See the current Michigan Fishing Regulations: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/fishing/fishing-regulations
Stocking history
| Species | Qty | Size | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake trout | 15100 | 14.3 | 04-15-2026 |
| Rainbow trout | 20684 | 19.43 | 04-07-2026 |
| Rainbow trout | 24520 | 11.27 | 11-24-2025 |
| Lake trout | 15393 | 14.4 | 04-14-2025 |
| Rainbow trout | 20699 | 19.53 | 04-09-2025 |
Gear for the fish stocked here
Lake Trout
Rod: Medium spinning rod for casting and bottom fishing. Medium-heavy to heavy rod for deep jigging. For trolling, 8 to 10.5 foot medium to medium-heavy rods.
Line: For downrigger trolling, 250 to 400 yards of 15 lb mono, or 30 lb braid with a six-foot, 17 lb mono leader.
Baits: dead ciscoes or smelt, minnows
Lures: trolling spoons, heavy jigs and jigging spoons, flasher and fly combinations
Rainbow Trout
Rod: Light or ultralight spinning rod, about 4.5 to 8.5 feet; 5 to 6.5 feet suits stocked ponds.
Line: 4 to 10 lb monofilament, with 6 to 8 lb a good middle. Go lighter in clear water.
Baits: worms or cut nightcrawlers, salmon eggs, kernel corn
Lures: small inline spinners, small spoons, curly tail jigs and grubs
Likely species (watershed)
Alaskan Stickleback, American Brook Lamprey, Blacknose Dace, Blacknose Shiner, Bluntnose Minnow, Brown Trout, Chestnut Lamprey, Creek Chub, Emerald Shiner, Finescale Dace, Golden Shiner, Iowa Darter, Johnny Darter, Logperch, Longnose Dace, Mottled Sculpin, Muskellunge, Northern Redbelly Dace, River Chub, Sand Shiner, Spottail Shiner, Western Blacknose Dace
Likely species come from USGS Aquatic GAP ranges for the whole watershed (HUC8). They show what may be here, not a count of this water.
Watch for stocking
We’ll email you when this water is newly stocked.
Sign in to watchNearby waters
More in Leelanau
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Home · All Michigan waters · Search · Map
Some stocking records are adapted from LurePassion (formerly lurepassion.com) (normalized and matched to our waters), licensed CC BY 4.0. State agencies retain their own terms for the underlying records.