Updated 11 Oct 2026, 8:24 pm EDT. Get alerts for Tuscola County lakes
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20 lakes · 887 acres · 3 with measured depth · 0 with a public launch · 3 stocked
Tuscola County has 20 lakes of 10 acres or more, 13 of them named, covering 887 acres of water. The largest is Murphy Lake at 183 acres; the deepest measured is North Lake at 46 ft. Michigan DNR has surveyed the depth of 3 lakes here.
Lake outlines: Michigan hydrography (lakes of 10 acres or more). Depths: Michigan DNR lake surveys, fetched 7 Oct 2026. County line: U.S. Census TIGER. Drawn square to the county's survey lines, which run 1° off true north; the arrow points to true north. Not for navigation.
2 lakes in Tuscola County cover 100 acres or more. All 13 named lakes are listed, largest first; 7 more are unnamed.
| Lake | Acres | Deepest | Clarity | Launches | Last stocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murphy Lake | 183 | 40 ft | 9 ft | 2025 | |
| Caro Reservoir | 109 | 3 ft | 2013 | ||
| Hemmingway Lake | 69 | about 30 ft (est.) | 9 ft | ||
| Cat Lake | 65 | 26 ft | 7 ft | ||
| North Lake | 50 | 46 ft | 10 ft | ||
| Shay Lake | 44 | 2010 | |||
| Becroft Lake | 31 | about 20 ft (est.) | 5 ft | ||
| Harmon Lake | 30 | about 25 ft (est.) | 13 ft | ||
| Mud Lake | 20 | about 20 ft (est.) | 7 ft | ||
| Hart Lake | 19 | about 30 ft (est.) | 12 ft | ||
| Phelps Lake | 15 | 8 ft | |||
| Cedar Lake | 15 | about 25 ft (est.) | 8 ft | ||
| Powder Horn Lake | 13 | 9 ft |
Acres: Michigan hydrography. Deepest: Michigan DNR survey; "est." marks an older Michigan EGLE estimate, rounded to 5 ft. Clarity: Michigan EGLE satellite averages 2018–23. Launches: Michigan DNR. Stocking: Michigan DNR Fisheries. Fetched 7–11 Oct 2026.
3 lakes in Tuscola County are 25 ft deep or more by Michigan DNR survey. North Lake is the deepest at 46 ft, then Murphy Lake (40 ft) and Cat Lake (26 ft). The depth of the other 10 named lakes has not been surveyed; where an older state estimate exists, the register gives it as an estimate.
Michigan DNR lake survey deep points, fetched 7 Oct 2026.
Clarity is the depth at which a black-and-white Secchi disk disappears from view. Across 12 lakes with satellite readings, the middle value in Tuscola County is 9 ft. The clearest is Harmon Lake at about 13 ft, then Hart Lake (12 ft), North Lake (10 ft) and Murphy Lake (9 ft). The least clear is Caro Reservoir at about 3 ft. Clarity is not a test for bacteria or algae toxins.
Michigan EGLE satellite-derived Secchi depth, averages 2018–23, fetched 7 Oct 2026.
Michigan DNR has stocked 3 lakes in Tuscola County 66 times since 1979. Walleye went into 2 lakes: Caro Reservoir and Murphy Lake. The most recent stocking was 24,645 walleye in Murphy Lake on 18 June 2025. Rivers and smaller waters stocked in the county: Cass River, Lake Huron, Saginaw Bay, South Branch White Creek and Wiscoggin Drain.
| Species | Lakes | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Channel catfish | 3 | Caro Reservoir, Murphy Lake and Shay Lake |
| Walleye | 2 | Caro Reservoir and Murphy Lake |
| Black crappie | 2 | Caro Reservoir and Shay Lake |
| Northern pike | 2 | Caro Reservoir and Murphy Lake |
| Tiger muskellunge | 2 | Caro Reservoir and Murphy Lake |
| Hybrid sunfish | 1 | Shay Lake |
| Largemouth bass | 1 | Murphy Lake |
| Fathead minnow | 1 | Murphy Lake |
| Bluegill | 1 | Caro Reservoir |
| Muskellunge | 1 | Murphy Lake |
2025: 1 stocking, 24,645 fish in 1 lake.
Michigan DNR Fisheries stocking records, fetched 11 Oct 2026. Each stocking is placed by its survey section, so lakes that share a name are kept apart. How we measure
20 lakes of 10 acres or more, 13 of them named, in Michigan's hydrography layer. Smaller ponds are not counted.
Murphy Lake, at 183 acres.
North Lake, 46 ft at its deepest point by Michigan DNR survey.
Harmon Lake, with an average Secchi depth of about 13 ft (satellite readings, 2018–23).
Caro Reservoir and Murphy Lake, by Michigan DNR stocking records.