Lake Saint Clair

Lake St. Clair is a natural freshwater lake on the border between Michigan and Ontario. It is part of the Great Lakes system but is not counted as one of the five Great Lakes. Together with the St. Clair River and the Detroit River, it links Lake Huron to the north with Lake Erie to the south. The lake covers about 430 square miles and is shallow, with an average depth of 11 feet and a maximum depth of 27 feet, according to Wikipedia. Macomb County gives 10 and 21 feet. US and Canadian agencies have kept a 30-foot-deep shipping channel through the lake for more than a century. The St. Clair River enters the lake through a delta of North, Middle and South channels. The North Channel runs past Harsens and Dickinson islands and empties into Anchor Bay. Macomb County has 32 miles of the western shoreline.

The Michigan DNR runs the Harley Ensign Memorial, Selfridge and Clinton River Cut-off launches in Harrison Township. It also runs the North Channel, Ames, Fair Haven, Deckers Landing and Snooks launches around Anchor Bay and the North Channel near Algonac and New Baltimore. Other ramps include Lake St. Clair Metropark and Brandenburg Park. St. Clair Shores has two ramps open only to residents. On the St. Clair River, which feeds the lake, Michigan enforces slow-no-wake within 200 feet of shore for vessels under 26 feet long, and within 600 feet for vessels 26 feet or longer.

Macomb County describes the lake as one of the best freshwater fisheries in North America. Its species include muskellunge, smallmouth and largemouth bass, walleye, yellow perch, pike and channel catfish. The commercial fishery was closed in the early 1970s because of mercury contamination.