Elk River Chain of Lakes Fish Shelters

63 documented locations. 189 structures. Five lakes, one program.

Between 2012 and 2017 the Elk River Chain of Lakes Fish Shelter Committee sank three structures at every site — a hardwood crate packed with brush and rock, a fabricated slab tree, and a stump cluster with the roots still attached — in 15 to 25 feet of water. Every location below is mapped over the lake's own depth contours.
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All 63 in one file: ZIP · GPX · USR · HWR

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Before you keep fish: four of these five lakes carry consumption limits — mercury, PCBs or dioxins depending on the water and the species. Torch has a do-not-eat on lake trout over 28 inches. Clam Lake had no listing in the 2026 guide, which is not the same as a clean bill of health. Each lake page has the detail. Always check the current guide before you keep fish — Michigan revises it every year. Look your lake up at michigan.gov/eatsafefish.

Accuracy

Coordinates are good to about 80 feet in any direction. Idle over the mark and read your sonar rather than expecting to drop straight onto the structure. These are the documented shelters, not every piece of structure in the chain — plenty goes in without paperwork and none of that is here.

Where this came from

Coordinates published by the Three Lakes Association and the Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association, who ran the project with several partner organizations. Counts, depths and dates come from Michigan EGLE permit 12-05-0008-P via mienviro.michigan.gov. Depth contours are Michigan DNR inland lake survey data.

We didn't put these in the lake — volunteers did, over five years, mostly through the ice. If these files are useful to you, consider joining or donating to one of those associations.

Found one that isn't where we said? Tell us: [email protected]
Coordinates are approximate and not for navigation.