Clear Lake

Porter County, Indiana · IN DNR bathymetric survey

39ft Max
depth

25 acres 7 contours

Paddling Index59MixedMedium confidencesheltered geometry

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Depth scale

0510152025303539

The lake

Survey readout

Clear Lake is mapped to a depth of 39 ft on the Indiana DNR survey and covers about 25 acres in Porter County, Indiana. Depths come from the Indiana DNR survey of 2019.

Measured from the Indiana DNR lake bathymetry survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 39 ft
Survey year: 2019
Surface area: 25 acres
Shoreline: 0.7 mi · round
Aquatic vegetation: 17% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details7 contours

Contour depths: 0–39 ft
Recorded point soundings: 39 ft

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Location

Porter County, Indiana · all 3 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: 41.55295, -86.93164
IN DNR lake ID: 123166025
Vertical exaggeration: 2.35×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 0.7 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-10-08

59 / 100MixedData confidence: Medium

Clear Lake has a mixed natural and developed setting, well sheltered geometry, nearby higher-volume 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	Mixed	14.5 of 35	53% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (26% forest, 13% wetland; 31% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	29.4 of 29	mean fetch 306 m · 100% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controls	None identified	8.8 of 18	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Not listed	—	No DNR-listed access site. Township, county and road-end launches are not in this source, so this is not evidence that access is poor — the component is excluded and the remaining weights are renormalized.
Road isolation	Mixed	6.7 of 18	nearby higher-volume roads · 6 INDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 7,354 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: Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: Moderate — approximately 17% 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 — 26% forest and 13% 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) 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

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

Hybrid Sunfish

About these fish → the Fish of Indiana guide

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 8 species found here — 6 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”)

Hybrid 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.

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

Redfin PickerelRule 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”)

Yellow PerchOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no limit (IN DNR 2026-27 guide, statewide table · 312 IAC 9-7-18 (Lake Michigan only)) The code limits yellow perch only on Lake Michigan (15); the DNR's statewide table prints inland perch as unlimited.

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 2022

243Fish sampled

8Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 23

Panfish Bluegill 153 · Redear Sunfish 27 · Black Crappie 5

All survey species8 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass23 caught · to 14″

Panfish

Bluegill153 caught · to 9″

Redear Sunfish27 caught · to 9″

Black Crappie5 caught · to 10″

Hybrid Sunfish1 caught · to 6″

Yellow Perch1 caught · to 8″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead31 caught · to 11″

Forage & nongame

Redfin Pickerel2 caught · to 12″

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

Clear Lake — common questions

How deep is Clear Lake?

The deepest contour on the Indiana DNR bathymetric survey of Clear Lake is 39 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 Clear Lake?

Clear Lake covers about 25 acres in Porter County, Indiana.

What fish are in Clear Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, redear sunfish, yellow bullhead. The page lists all 8 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Clear Lake?

No public launch for Clear Lake is shown in the Indiana DNR's public access data. That is not the same as the lake being private -- municipal and private ramps are not in that source.

More lakes in Porter County