Indiana Lake Depths

Panfish · sunfish family

Bluegill

Lepomis macrochirus · also called bream, brim, pond perch

Native to IndianaRecorded in 176 Indiana lakes
Illustration of a bluegill in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Spawns
From about 65°F in late spring; the peak is June, and some spawn into September
Nests
In colonies, 1–6 ft deep, usually on gravel
Favors
Lakes and impoundments with weed beds
Eats
Mostly aquatic insects
Indiana record
3 lb 4 oz — Pond, Greene County, 1972

Where bluegill have been recorded

176 of the 186 Indiana lakes on this site with fish records list bluegill, across 44 counties. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

Lake Wawasee, Kosciusko CountyLake Maxinkuckee, Marshall CountyLake Freeman, Carroll CountyBass Lake, Starke CountyJ C Murphey Lake, Newton CountyTippecanoe Lake, Kosciusko CountyHamilton Lake, Steuben CountyLake Manitou, Fulton CountyCrooked Lake, Steuben CountyCedar Lake, Lake CountyHardy Lake, Scott CountySylvan Lake, Noble CountyWinona Lake, Kosciusko CountyDewart Lake, Kosciusko CountyBig Chapman Lake, Kosciusko CountyKokomo Reservoir, Howard CountyLake of the Woods, Marshall CountyOliver Lake, LaGrange CountyGlenn Flint Lake, Putnam CountyWorster Lake, St. Joseph CountyKoontz Lake, Starke CountyLake Gage, Steuben CountyCedarville Reservoir, Allen CountyAdams Lake, LaGrange CountyJAMES LAKE, Kosciusko CountyHurshtown Reservoir, Allen CountyKickapoo Lake, Sullivan CountyPike Lake, Kosciusko CountyBlue Lake, Whitley CountyWitmer Lake, LaGrange CountyBig Lake, Noble CountyShipshewana Lake, LaGrange CountySilver Lake, Steuben CountyStone Lake, LaPorte CountyWabee Lake, Kosciusko CountyBischoff Reservoir, Ripley CountyDeam Lake, Clark CountyPretty Lake, LaGrange CountyIrish Lake, Kosciusko CountyHoffman Lake, Kosciusko CountyWestwood Run Lake, Henry CountyAtwood Lake, LaGrange CountyBeaver Dam Lake, Dubois CountyHuntingburg Lake, Dubois CountyLake Celina, Perry CountyBeaver Dam Lake, Kosciusko CountyBrush Creek Reservoir, Jennings CountyFox Lake, Steuben CountyWall Lake, LaGrange CountyLittle Chapman Lake, Kosciusko CountyKuhn Lake, Kosciusko CountyRound Lake, Whitley CountyLittle Turkey Lake, LaGrange CountyBear Lake, Noble CountyIndian Lake, Perry CountySkinner Lake, Noble CountyBixler Lake, Noble CountyCedar Lake, LaGrange CountyStarve Hallow Lake, Jackson CountyYellowwood Lake, Brown CountyIndiana Lake, Elkhart CountyCenter Lake, Kosciusko CountyGriffy Lake, Monroe CountyStone Lake, LaGrange CountyNyona Lake, Fulton CountyDiamond Lake, Noble CountyBarton Lake, Steuben CountyCass Lake, LaGrange CountyFlint Lake, Porter CountySechrist Lake, Kosciusko CountyOlin Lake, LaGrange CountySouth Mud Lake, Fulton CountyClear Lake, LaPorte CountyFish Lake, LaGrange CountyRound Lake, Noble CountyHunter Lake, Elkhart CountyTROY-CEDAR LAKE, Whitley CountyPretty Lake, Marshall CountyMyers Lake, Marshall CountyWestler Lake, LaGrange CountyPrides Creek Lake, Pike CountyBall Lake, Steuben CountyUpper Long Lake, Noble CountyAppleman Lake, LaGrange CountyLawrence Lake, Marshall CountyRockville Lake, Parke CountyDiamond Lake, Kosciusko CountyCree Lake, Noble CountyRiddles Lake, St. Joseph CountyEagle Lake, Noble CountyLake Salinda, Washington CountySaugany Lake, LaPorte CountyOtter Pit, Warrick CountyLittle Long Lake, Noble CountyRoyer Lake, LaGrange CountyStory Lake, DeKalb CountyBig Otter Lake, Steuben CountyHill Lake, Kosciusko CountyMessick Lake, LaGrange CountyLower Long Lake, Noble CountyScales Lake, Warrick CountyIndian Lake, DeKalb CountyProvince Pond, Henry CountySand Lake, Noble CountyShakamak Lake, Sullivan CountyHackleburg Lake, LaGrange CountyLincoln Lake, Spencer CountyPisgah Lake, Johnson CountyGreen Valley Lake, Vigo CountyWilliams Lake, Noble CountyLoomis Lake, Porter CountyBell Lake, Steuben CountyLittle Cedar Lake, Whitley CountyLukens Lake, Wabash CountyElk Creek Lake, Washington CountyLake Everett, Allen CountyFletcher Lake, Fulton CountyShock Lake, Kosciusko CountyEmma Lake, LaGrange CountyEngle Lake, Noble CountySaddle Lake, Perry CountySpear Lake, Kosciusko CountyFerdinand State Forest Lake, Dubois CountyCypress Lake, Jackson CountyHog Lake, LaPorte CountyFish Lake, Elkhart CountyMollenkramer, Ripley CountyGilbert Lake, Marshall CountyMcClish Lake, Steuben CountyRosser Park Pond, Lake CountyRound Lake, Steuben CountyOld Lake, Whitley CountySacarider Lake, Noble CountyMcClures Lake, Kosciusko CountyPinhook Lake, St. Joseph CountyCedar Lake, DeKalb CountyEve Lake, LaGrange CountyBrokesha Lake, LaGrange CountyRivir Lake, Noble CountyBuffalo Trace Lake, Harrison CountyBaugher Lake, Noble CountyGordy Lake, Noble CountyDixon Lake, Marshall CountySellers Lake, Kosciusko CountyCrane Lake, Noble CountySpurgeon Hollow Lake, Washington CountyW Keith Ruble Lake, Vigo CountyGrouse Ridge Lake, Bartholomew CountyMartin Lake, LaGrange CountyGreen Lake, Steuben CountyClear Lake, Porter CountyRupel Lake, St. Joseph CountyHenry Lake, Steuben CountyOgle Lake, Brown CountyWahkShinGah Lake, Huntington CountyStone Arch Lake, Johnson CountyPigeon Pit, Pike CountyChrisney Lake, Spencer CountySchlamm Lake, Clark CountyPleasant Lake, Noble CountyGambill Lake, Sullivan CountyLake Arrowhead, Steuben CountyWest Twin Pit, Pike CountyMartindale, Wayne CountyLindsey Lake, Noble CountyFunk Lake, Vigo CountyNarrow Lake, Sullivan CountyCrooked Creek Lake, Brown CountyBoone's Pond, Boone CountySmalley's Pond, Fayette CountyFancher Lake, Lake CountyMoss Lake, Noble CountyThomas Lake, Marshall CountyBryant Creek Lake, Monroe CountyCattail Pit, Pike CountySummit Lake, Noble County

Recorded here Other lakes with fish records

How we know

  • 176lakes where a DNR fisheries survey caught them

A lake can appear in more than one line. A lake that isn’t listed may still have them: records exist only where someone caught, netted or stocked them.

Inland lakes on this list run from 6 to 3,508 acres (median 78) and from 6 to 125 ft deep (median 32 ft).

How many turn up in DNR surveys

Indiana DNR crews survey lakes the same way everywhere: timed night electrofishing along the shore, plus gill and trap nets set overnight. The standard method makes lakes comparable. These are the DNR’s own sampling rates from its community surveys, 2008–2025 — a measure of how many fish a lake holds, not how many an angler will catch.

Found in
172 of 175 lakes surveyed this way
Typical rate
174 per hour where found
Highest
1,024 per hour
Method
fish per hour of night electrofishing

“Typical” is the median across the lakes where the survey caught at least one. Nets and electrofishing catch different fish: by the other method it turned up in 169 lakes at a typical 12.5 per net lift. A single survey is a snapshot of one season.

Highest survey rates on this site

  1. Province Pond, Henry 2021 1,024
  2. Wall Lake, LaGrange 2017 900
  3. Upper Long Lake, Noble 2015 842
  4. Spear Lake, Kosciusko 2018 706
  5. Rosser Park Pond, Lake County 2018 700
  6. Ball Lake, Steuben 2013 696
  7. Worster Lake, St. Joseph 2016–2024 685
  8. Hamilton Lake, Steuben 2022 623
  9. Barton Lake, Steuben 2018 612
  10. Kokomo Reservoir, Howard 2019 608

Fish per hour of night electrofishing, with survey years. Survey effort and season differ between lakes.

Often found with

Share of these lakes that also list each fish.

How to recognize it

Five to nine vertical bars on each side, a solid black ear flap, and a distinct dark spot at the back of the dorsal fin. A small mouth on a deep, slab-sided body.

Don’t confuse it with

Pumpkinseed — A red spot on the rear edge of the ear flap and blue-green streaks on the cheek.
Redear sunfish — An ear flap with a red or orange border, and no dark spot on the dorsal fin.
Green sunfish — A much larger mouth, a white edge to the ear flap and short, rounded pectoral fins.
Hybrid sunfish — Sunfish cross-breed on shared spawning beds and show mixed features. The one pictured is a bluegill × green sunfish.

Up close

Illustration of a bluegill's head from the side, with a small mouth and a dark ear flap that is dark all the way to its edge.
Bluegill: a small mouth; the ear flap is dark right to its edge, with no colored rim.
Illustration of a pumpkinseed's head from the side, with wavy blue-green lines on the cheek and a bright red-orange spot on the tip of a short dark ear flap.
Pumpkinseed: a bright red-orange spot on the tip of a short dark ear flap; wavy blue-green lines on the cheek.
Illustration of a redear sunfish's head from the side, with a small mouth, a plain speckled cheek and a red crescent along the edge of the dark ear flap.
Redear sunfish: a red crescent along the edge of the dark ear flap; a small mouth; no wavy blue lines on the cheek.
Illustration of a green sunfish's head from the side, with a large mouth reaching below the middle of the eye, wavy blue-green cheek lines and a dark ear flap with a pale edge.
Green sunfish: a large mouth reaching below the middle of the eye; a dark ear flap with a pale edge; wavy blue-green cheek lines.
Illustration of a warmouth's head from the side, with a very large mouth, a red eye, dark stripes running back from the eye and a small dark ear flap edged in red.
Warmouth: a very large mouth, a red eye, dark stripes running back from the eye, and a small dark ear flap edged in red.
Illustration of a longear sunfish's head from the side, with a long dark ear flap bordered in white, wavy blue lines on the cheek and blue spots behind it.
Longear sunfish: a long dark ear flap with a white border; wavy blue lines on the cheek and blue spots behind it.

AI-generated close-ups, not photographs, drawn from the cited descriptions. They show what to look for; they are not a substitute for an expert identification (provenance).

Life in an Indiana lake

Bluegill live almost everywhere in Indiana, from farm ponds to streams, but they are most abundant in lakes and impoundments, where weed beds give them cover and insects to eat.

Males fan out beds side by side in colonies once the water reaches about 65°F, and guard them; the eggs hatch in 3–4 days. Bluegill reproduce quickly: where too few are removed they can overpopulate and stunt, and where too many big ones are kept, few large fish remain. Indiana has had no statewide bluegill bag limit since 1970.

Source: the sources below.

Rules and eating

Check the rules before you keep fish. Each lake page shows the regulations that apply there, and the Indiana Fishing Guide is the official source. Before eating fish from a particular lake, check the Indiana Fish Consumption Advisory.

All 176 lakes with bluegill

Show every lake, by county

Allen County 3

Cedarville Reservoir, Hurshtown Reservoir, Lake Everett

Bartholomew County 1

Grouse Ridge Lake

Boone County 1

Boone's Pond

Brown County 3

Crooked Creek Lake, Ogle Lake, Yellowwood Lake

Carroll County 1

Lake Freeman

Clark County 2

Deam Lake, Schlamm Lake

DeKalb County 3

Cedar Lake, Indian Lake, Story Lake

Dubois County 3

Beaver Dam Lake, Ferdinand State Forest Lake, Huntingburg Lake

Elkhart County 3

Fish Lake, Hunter Lake, Indiana Lake

Fayette County 1

Smalley's Pond

Fulton County 4

Fletcher Lake, Lake Manitou, Nyona Lake, South Mud Lake

Harrison County 1

Buffalo Trace Lake

Henry County 2

Province Pond, Westwood Run Lake

Howard County 1

Kokomo Reservoir

Huntington County 1

WahkShinGah Lake

Jackson County 2

Cypress Lake, Starve Hallow Lake

Jennings County 1

Brush Creek Reservoir

Johnson County 2

Pisgah Lake, Stone Arch Lake

Kosciusko County 21

Beaver Dam Lake, Big Chapman Lake, Center Lake, Dewart Lake, Diamond Lake, Hill Lake, Hoffman Lake, Irish Lake, JAMES LAKE, Kuhn Lake, Lake Wawasee, Little Chapman Lake, McClures Lake, Pike Lake, Sechrist Lake, Sellers Lake, Shock Lake, Spear Lake, Tippecanoe Lake, Wabee Lake, Winona Lake

LaGrange County 22

Adams Lake, Appleman Lake, Atwood Lake, Brokesha Lake, Cass Lake, Cedar Lake, Emma Lake, Eve Lake, Fish Lake, Hackleburg Lake, Little Turkey Lake, Martin Lake, Messick Lake, Olin Lake, Oliver Lake, Pretty Lake, Royer Lake, Shipshewana Lake, Stone Lake, Wall Lake, Westler Lake, Witmer Lake

LaPorte County 4

Clear Lake, Hog Lake, Saugany Lake, Stone Lake

Lake County 3

Cedar Lake, Fancher Lake, Rosser Park Pond

Marshall County 8

Dixon Lake, Gilbert Lake, Lake Maxinkuckee, Lake of the Woods, Lawrence Lake, Myers Lake, Pretty Lake, Thomas Lake

Monroe County 2

Bryant Creek Lake, Griffy Lake

Newton County 1

J C Murphey Lake

Noble County 24

Baugher Lake, Bear Lake, Big Lake, Bixler Lake, Crane Lake, Cree Lake, Diamond Lake, Eagle Lake, Engle Lake, Gordy Lake, Lindsey Lake, Little Long Lake, Lower Long Lake, Moss Lake, Pleasant Lake, Rivir Lake, Round Lake, Sacarider Lake, Sand Lake, Skinner Lake, Summit Lake, Sylvan Lake, Upper Long Lake, Williams Lake

Parke County 1

Rockville Lake

Perry County 3

Indian Lake, Lake Celina, Saddle Lake

Pike County 4

Cattail Pit, Pigeon Pit, Prides Creek Lake, West Twin Pit

Porter County 3

Clear Lake, Flint Lake, Loomis Lake

Putnam County 1

Glenn Flint Lake

Ripley County 2

Bischoff Reservoir, Mollenkramer

Scott County 1

Hardy Lake

Spencer County 2

Chrisney Lake, Lincoln Lake

St. Joseph County 4

Pinhook Lake, Riddles Lake, Rupel Lake, Worster Lake

Starke County 2

Bass Lake, Koontz Lake

Steuben County 14

Ball Lake, Barton Lake, Bell Lake, Big Otter Lake, Crooked Lake, Fox Lake, Green Lake, Hamilton Lake, Henry Lake, Lake Arrowhead, Lake Gage, McClish Lake, Round Lake, Silver Lake

Sullivan County 4

Gambill Lake, Kickapoo Lake, Narrow Lake, Shakamak Lake

Vigo County 3

Funk Lake, Green Valley Lake, W Keith Ruble Lake

Wabash County 1

Lukens Lake

Warrick County 2

Otter Pit, Scales Lake

Washington County 3

Elk Creek Lake, Lake Salinda, Spurgeon Hollow Lake

Wayne County 1

Martindale

Whitley County 5

Blue Lake, Little Cedar Lake, Old Lake, Round Lake, TROY-CEDAR LAKE

Sources

← All fish of Indiana