Gilbert Lake

Marshall County, Indiana · IN DNR bathymetric survey

29ft Max
depth

37 acres 5 contours

Paddling Index56MixedMedium confidencesheltered geometry · speed limit · away from major roads

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Depth scale

051015202529

The lake

Survey readout

Gilbert Lake is mapped to a depth of 29 ft on the Indiana DNR survey and covers about 37 acres in Marshall County, Indiana. Depths come from the Indiana DNR survey of 2024.

Measured from the Indiana DNR lake bathymetry survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 29 ft
Survey year: 2024
Surface area: 37 acres
Shoreline: 1.09 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 7% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details5 contours

Contour depths: 0–29 ft
Recorded point soundings: 29 ft

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Location

Marshall County, Indiana · all 8 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: 41.33540, -86.44650
IN DNR lake ID: 123166696
Vertical exaggeration: 2.69×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 1.3 MB

Paddling

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

56 / 100MixedData confidence: Medium

Gilbert Lake has a substantially developed setting, well sheltered geometry, limited nearby major-road exposure. Watercraft controls: Speed limit.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Modest	5.3 of 35	30% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (17% forest, 6% wetland; 30% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	29.0 of 29	mean fetch 482 m · 62% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controls	Speed limit	10.6 of 18	Speed limit
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	Very Good	11.4 of 18	limited nearby major-road exposure · 4 INDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 650 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: Low — approximately 7% 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: Limited — 17% forest and 6% 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

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

Common Carp

Gizzard Shad

Golden Shiner

Brook Silverside

About these fish → the Fish of Indiana guide

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 12 species found here — 9 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”)

Brook SilversideRule 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.

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.

Common CarpOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no limit (312 IAC 9-7-14(d) · “Carp”)

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)).

Golden ShinerOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: none stated (312 IAC 9-7-15) A minnow under the code’s definition (312 IAC 9-6-1). Minnows may be taken at any time of year by minnow trap, dip net, seine, cast net or lawful sport-fishing methods; the section states no bag or size limit, caps transport out of Indiana at 100 minnows in any 24-hour period (licensed bait dealers, scientific-purposes licensees and those commercially raising minnows in private waters for sale excepted), and requires a bait dealer’s license to sell (312 IAC 9-7-15).

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.

PumpkinseedRule 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.

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”)

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.

Official rule text for this lake

“An individual may take minnows at any time during the year.” — 312 IAC 9-7-15(a), Indiana Administrative Code

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 2024

540Fish sampled

12Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 55 · Channel Catfish 1

Panfish Bluegill 258 · Black Crappie 55 · Pumpkinseed 35

All survey species12 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass55 caught · to 13″

Channel Catfish1 caught · to 23″

Panfish

Bluegill258 caught · to 7″

Black Crappie55 caught · to 11″

Pumpkinseed35 caught · to 7″

Warmouth7 caught · to 7″

Yellow Perch2 caught · to 7″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead3 caught · to 10″

Forage & nongame

Gizzard Shad93 caught · to 13″

Golden Shiner29 caught · to 7″

Brook Silverside1 caught · to 3″

Common Carp1 caught · to 22″

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

Gilbert Lake — common questions

How deep is Gilbert Lake?

The deepest contour on the Indiana DNR bathymetric survey of Gilbert Lake is 29 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 Gilbert Lake?

Gilbert Lake covers about 37 acres in Marshall County, Indiana.

What fish are in Gilbert Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include channel catfish, largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed, warmouth. The page lists all 12 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Gilbert Lake?

No public launch for Gilbert 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.

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