Gun Lake is a
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, located mostly in
Barry CountyBarry County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Grand Rapids – Wyoming Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population was 56,755. The county seat is Hastings....
with the southwestern tip extending into
Allegan CountyAllegan County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2000 census, the population was 105,665. The county seat is Allegan. The name was coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to sound like a Native American word....
. Along most of the lake are numerous summer homes, cottages, and permanent residences. The
Yankee Springs Recreation AreaYankee Springs Recreation Area was once the hunting grounds of the Algonquin Indians and the famous Chieftain, Chief Noonday. The site was established in 1835 and the village was made famous by Yankee Bill Lewis who owned and operated a hotel along the stagecoach run from Kalamazoo to Grand...
is based on northeastern portions of the lake. Gun Lake is the location of a
State ParkState parks are parks or other protected areas of the United States and in Mexico for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreation, or other reason, and under the administration of the government of a U.S. state or one of the states of Mexico. State...
with a boat launch, two beaches, a campground, and picnic areas.
Gun lake is shaped like a butterfly; it has two halves that are somewhat symmetrical and shaped like the wings of a butterfly.
Gun Lake is a
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, located mostly in
Barry CountyBarry County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Grand Rapids – Wyoming Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population was 56,755. The county seat is Hastings....
with the southwestern tip extending into
Allegan CountyAllegan County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2000 census, the population was 105,665. The county seat is Allegan. The name was coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to sound like a Native American word....
. Along most of the lake are numerous summer homes, cottages, and permanent residences. The
Yankee Springs Recreation AreaYankee Springs Recreation Area was once the hunting grounds of the Algonquin Indians and the famous Chieftain, Chief Noonday. The site was established in 1835 and the village was made famous by Yankee Bill Lewis who owned and operated a hotel along the stagecoach run from Kalamazoo to Grand...
is based on northeastern portions of the lake. Gun Lake is the location of a
State ParkState parks are parks or other protected areas of the United States and in Mexico for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreation, or other reason, and under the administration of the government of a U.S. state or one of the states of Mexico. State...
with a boat launch, two beaches, a campground, and picnic areas.
Features
Gun lake is shaped like a butterfly; it has two halves that are somewhat symmetrical and shaped like the wings of a butterfly. It reaches approximately 65 feet deep in one spot, while other bays never get deeper than 7 feet. In the Northwest corner is Robin's Bay, a deep bay that is a popular fishing spot. In the southeast quarter is an island known as "Party Island" to the residents. On the weekends many boats gather there because of the shallow, sandy rim around the island. Its official name is Orangeville Island. Other than Robbin's Bay, popular fishing spots include Pickeral Cove, on the southern shore, on the left "wing" of the lake, Bairds Cove, and the many channels that protrude off the "butterfly" part of the lake. It is the popular tourist destination in the summer, but is said to be the most beautiful at the end, when only full time residents are there. Although many of the locals dislike the many visitors that come and go, the shops and businesses sprinkled along the shores and inland enjoy that time of year. In the winter, many activities play a part in the lives of people that live there, such and Winterfest, where events such as a polar bear dip take place, and ice fishing in also a common sight in the cold months.
Fishery
In the lake there are populations of Black Bullhead, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Green Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Longnose Gar, Muskie, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Spotted Gar , Walleye, and Yellow Perch. Freshwater Crustaceans, known as Crayfish, also have some residency in the lake, and can be found in many of the shallows in the summertime as their young grow.
The lake is most famous for its large Walleye population, although according to the last Michigan DNR report in 1991, they only make up about 8.6 percent of the lake's fish. Bullheads are the most prosperous species in the lake, although many of the other species exists peacefully despite their lower percentage of existence.
Neighboring lakes
A number of other lakes are closely connected to Gun Lake. An inlet leads to nearby Payne Lake, and also to Fish rearing ponds. Another inlet leaks into the Gun River, which connects to Lake Michigan. The largest nearby lake is Long Lake. In recent years, a small cave was erected in the far west edge of the lake. It leads under the road, and is an easy gateway to get to Long Lake.
History
Famous bootlegger
Al CaponeAlphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a crime syndicate dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging of liquor and other illegal activities during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s and 1930s....
is rumored to have lived in a cottage on a hill overlooking the southeastern bay of Gun Lake, with a grand guest house closer to the shore. These two homes are now part of Chicago Point Resort (see below) owned by the Strayer Family. A common game they liked to play was put their cars on the lake and see whose was the first to fall though, and this game took several months to complete because the ice got (and still does) so thick. This game is now modernized today when parts of the lake become like parking lots there are so many cars on it, although most of them are there to get their snow-mobiles on the ice and race them, not to lose their several thousand dollar Honda. At one point, the lake was five separate lakes, but with the building of a 5 foot dam, it created the Gun Lake that can be seen today. In its early days, the dam was exploded several times by farmers, angry that their land got flooded, but was re-built every time and the new one has been there for the past 30 years. One tour boat company chugged along the lake for several years as the Gun Lake Princess, and everyone could tell when the Princess was sailing, its long white exterior and roof to top it off with now windows was quite recognizable. It has since stopped running.
External links