Beaver Dam Lake

Dubois County, Indiana · IN DNR bathymetric survey

27ft Max
depth

165 acres 10 contours Public access

Paddling Index70Goodsheltered geometry · wooded shoreline

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Depth scale

01369121518212427

The lake

Survey readout

Beaver Dam Lake is mapped to a depth of 27 ft on the Indiana DNR survey and covers about 165 acres in Dubois County, Indiana. Depths come from the Indiana DNR survey of 2017.

Measured from the Indiana DNR lake bathymetry survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 27 ft
Survey year: 2017
Surface area: 165 acres
Shoreline: 5.3 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 4% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Ramp · Indiana DNR site

Additional depth details10 contours

Contour depths: 0–27 ft
Recorded point soundings: 27 ft, 24 ft, 24 ft, 21 ft, 21 ft, 21 ft

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Location

Dubois County, Indiana · all 6 lakes · tap a dot for that lake

Chart data

Provenance

Sources: IN DNR Lake Bathymetry, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL).

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Map details & sources4 sources

All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.

Survey-derived depth contours drape over USGS 3DEP elevation, with a USDA NAIP aerial basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Color shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.

Coordinates: 38.39844, -86.83997
IN DNR lake ID: 62682699
Vertical exaggeration: 2.76× below the waterline; land at true scale
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.0 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-09-21

70 / 100GoodData confidence: High

Beaver Dam Lake has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, generally sheltered geometry, some nearby classified roads. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Very Good	21.3 of 30	74% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (74% forest, 0% wetland; 10% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Very Good	21.2 of 25	mean fetch 617 m · 29% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch
Watercraft controls	None identified	7.5 of 15	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Good	12.8 of 15	1 DNR fishing access site · boat ramp · fishing pier
Road isolation	Good	7.5 of 15	some nearby classified roads · 4 INDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 2,582 vehicles/day

Additional paddling considerations

These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.

Wake sensitivity: Moderate — narrow in places — wakes would carry across parts of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: Low — approximately 4% mapped coverage · NAIP aerial imagery (NDVI)
Observed motorized activity: Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
Wildlife habitat potential: Moderate — 74% forest and 0% wetland cover within 150 m of shore

Compare Indiana lakes by Paddling Index →

How this index is calculated. The Paddling Index is a relative composite derived from lake geometry and public environmental, access, roadway and watercraft-control data. It is not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of an individual outing. Differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful — an 84 and an 82 are broadly comparable. Components and weights: natural setting 30%, geometric wind exposure 25%, watercraft controls 15%, public access 15%, road isolation 15%; observed motorboat activity is weighted 0% because no defensible lake-level measurement exists. Where a component has no data the remaining weights are renormalized and the confidence rating is lowered; below Medium confidence no number is shown. Sources: USGS NHD waterbody outline, USGS/MRLC NLCD Land Cover (2021), IN DNR Fishing Access Sites (motor restrictions) (2026-08), IN DNR Fishing Access Sites (2026-08) and INDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (2021). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from DNR surveys

10 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colors, not photographs (provenance).

Gizzard Shad

About these fish → the Fish of Indiana guide

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 10 species found here — 7 open to harvest.

These are hook-and-line size and daily limit rules. The fishing code sets no closed season for these species on inland lakes, but posted property rules can close a water — see the notes. Gear, spearing and bow fishing, netting and bait collection are set by other sections of 312 IAC 9 and are not shown here.

Black CrappieOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (312 IAC 9-7-14(a)) Black and white crappie together.

BluegillOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no limit (312 IAC 9-7-14(d) · “Bluegill”)

Beta. This panel is newly published. Every value is transcribed from the Indiana Administrative Code (312 IAC 9-7) and checked against the Indiana DNR's 2026-27 Fishing Regulations Guide, but the coverage and wording are still under review. If anything here disagrees with 312 IAC 9-7 or the Indiana DNR's guide, the DNR is right — the Administrative Code is the legal text; the guide summarizes it.

No closed season in the fishing code: 312 IAC 9-7 sets no season for these species on inland lakes (trout and salmon “at any time of year”, 9-7-13(d)(1)). Posted property rules can still close a water or bar entry (312 IAC 8-2-1) and 312 IAC 9-6-6 closes a few named areas, so check the property before you go. The possession limit is twice the daily bag limit (312 IAC 9-1-12.1); fish already processed and stored at your primary residence do not count toward it (312 IAC 9-2-8(d)).

Black CrappieOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (312 IAC 9-7-14(a)) Black and white crappie together.

BluegillOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no limit (312 IAC 9-7-14(d) · “Bluegill”)

Channel CatfishOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 10 (312 IAC 9-7-3(b), (d)) The 10 is catfish in aggregate of any size from a lake or reservoir. Of those, not more than one channel catfish 28 inches or longer, one blue catfish 35 inches or longer and one flathead catfish 35 inches or longer per day.

Gizzard ShadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no limit (312 IAC 9-7-14(d) · “Gizzard shad”) No limit on harvest, but live shad may not be kept: live gizzard or threadfin shad may be possessed or used as bait only on eight named waters (Brookville, Cecil M. Harden, Monroe and Patoka reservoirs, Lakes Freeman and Shafer, Hardy Lake, the Ohio River main stem excluding its embayments), and only where collected. Everywhere else shad must be killed immediately (312 IAC 9-6-8(b)–(d)).

Green SunfishRule not confidently resolvedNot named in 312 IAC 9-7 or in the DNR guide's limits table. Please check with the Indiana DNR (317-232-4200) before keeping this species.

Largemouth BassOpen to harvestMinimum size: 14" · Daily limit: 5 (312 IAC 9-7-6(a), (c)(3)) The 5 is black bass in aggregate — any combination of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass — not 5 of each.

Longear SunfishRule not confidently resolvedNot named in 312 IAC 9-7 or in the DNR guide's limits table. Please check with the Indiana DNR (317-232-4200) before keeping this species.

Redear SunfishOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (312 IAC 9-7-14(c))

WarmouthRule not confidently resolvedNot named in 312 IAC 9-7 or in the DNR guide's limits table. Please check with the Indiana DNR (317-232-4200) before keeping this species.

Yellow BullheadOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no limit (312 IAC 9-7-14(d) · “Bullhead”)

From 312 IAC 9-7 (Sport fishing), Indiana Administrative Code (readopted 2025-03-25), and the 2026-2027 Indiana Fishing Regulations Guide · verified 2026-09-15. Regulations can change — the Indiana Administrative Code (312 IAC 9-7) is the controlling source; verify current regulations before fishing. Official regulations

Compiled from Indiana DNR fishery surveys. Silhouettes are stylized and scaled to typical adult sizes relative to one another. Presence is not a promise — fishing isn’t a sure thing.

Fishery

surveyed 2013, 2017, 2019 and 2025

2,698Fish sampled

10Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 413 · Channel Catfish 29

Panfish Bluegill 778 · Longear Sunfish 329 · Black Crappie 237

All survey species10 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass413 caught · to 23″

Channel Catfish29 caught · to 28″

Panfish

Bluegill778 caught · to 8″

Longear Sunfish329 caught · to 6″

Black Crappie237 caught · to 11″

Redear Sunfish122 caught · to 11″

Warmouth19 caught · to 8″

Green Sunfish1 caught · to 4″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead40 caught · to 13″

Forage & nongame

Gizzard Shad730 caught · to 16″

Length is the largest fish netted in the survey, not an angler record. Source: Indiana DNR fish survey (Indiana Data Hub) (counts summed across survey years).

Quick answers

Beaver Dam Lake — common questions

How deep is Beaver Dam Lake?

The deepest contour on the Indiana DNR bathymetric survey of Beaver Dam Lake is 27 ft. That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.

How big is Beaver Dam Lake?

Beaver Dam Lake covers about 165 acres in Dubois County, Indiana.

What fish are in Beaver Dam Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include channel catfish, largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, redear sunfish. The page lists all 10 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Beaver Dam Lake?

Yes. The Indiana DNR lists a public access site on Beaver Dam Lake: a boat ramp with a fishing pier and restrooms. The DNR notes that an entry fee applies. DNR directions: "On CR 325 E., north of SR 164."

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