Overview
Little Bay de Noc is a large open embayment of Lake Michigan / Green Bay along Michigan's Upper Peninsula near Escanaba and Gladstone. It is not a separate impoundment; its waters and levels are continuous with Lake Michigan. Fisheries and access guidance are provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the bay is one of the Upper Peninsula's most important recreational fishing waters.
The bay covers on the order of 30,000 acres of relatively shallow, productive water fed by the Escanaba, Days, Tacoosh, Rapid, Whitefish, and Ford rivers. Broad flats, river mouths, and rocky points create classic Upper Peninsula bay habitat that ices early, warms quickly in spring, and supports strong seasonal fisheries for both open-water and ice anglers.
Little Bay de Noc is famous for walleye, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, and northern pike, drawing ice and open-water anglers from across the Midwest. Public ramps and waterfront communities around Escanaba and Gladstone provide access, and the bay's combination of river mouths and open Green Bay water supports both local and destination fishing pressure year-round.
As part of Lake Michigan, the bay does not use reservoir full, winter, or flood pools. Surface elevations follow Michigan–Huron levels reported in IGLD85 (chart datum / Low Water Datum 577.5 feet IGLD85); wind setup and seiches can change local water levels quickly, so monitoring current Great Lakes levels and marine forecasts matters for safe boating and shoreline use.
Current Conditions
- 7-day trendFallingLatest movement can differ from the seven-day trend.
- 7-day changeDown 0.33 ft
- 30-day changeDown 0.58 ft
- Drought conditionsNo Drought
- Active advisories1 active (Notice)
About This Lake
Learn how this lake is managed, what affects its water level, and where Lake Insights gets its data.
Little Bay de Noc is a 30,000-acre natural lake with management context from Michigan DNR (fisheries); bay of Lake Michigan. Levels respond to rainfall, runoff, and natural inflows and outflows.