Hunter Lake

Elkhart County, Indiana · IN DNR bathymetric survey

24ft Max
depth

99 acres 6 contours

Paddling Index52ModestMedium confidencespeed limit · sheltered geometry

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Depth scale

03915182124

The lake

Survey readout

Hunter Lake is mapped to a depth of 24 ft on the Indiana DNR survey and covers about 99 acres in Elkhart County, Indiana.

Measured from the Indiana DNR lake bathymetry survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 24 ft
Surface area: 99 acres
Shoreline: 2.07 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 3% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details6 contours

Contour depths: 0–24 ft
Recorded point soundings: 24 ft

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Location

Elkhart County, Indiana · the only mapped lake in this county

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: 41.72190, -85.66719
IN DNR lake ID: hunter-lake
Vertical exaggeration: 2.86×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.1 MB

Paddling

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

52 / 100ModestData confidence: Medium

Hunter Lake has a mixed natural and developed setting, generally sheltered geometry, some nearby classified roads. Watercraft controls: Speed limit.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Mixed	10.5 of 35	47% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (6% forest, 39% wetland; 41% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Very Good	23.5 of 29	mean fetch 663 m · 6% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch
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	Good	7.8 of 18	some nearby classified roads · 5 INDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 11,546 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 3% 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 — 6% forest and 39% 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).

Hybrid Sunfish

Brook Silverside

Banded Killifish

Bluntnose Minnow

About these fish → the Fish of Indiana guide

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 12 species found here — 8 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.

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

Bluntnose MinnowOpen 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).

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)).

Banded KillifishRule 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.

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

BowfinOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no limit (312 IAC 9-7-14(d) · “Bowfin”) Roe must stay intact inside the fish while on or beside the water and until processing begins; once removed, roe may not be screened, washed, processed, preserved, stored, kept, given away, sold or transported without a roe harvester's license (312 IAC 9-7-14(f), (g)).

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.

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.

Northern PikeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 24" · Daily limit: 3 (312 IAC 9-7-5(a), (b)) No more than one of the three may be over 30 inches.

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”)

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 2016

327Fish sampled

12Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 41 · Northern Pike 7 · Bowfin 3

Panfish Bluegill 148 · Redear Sunfish 61 · Warmouth 30

All survey species12 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass41 caught · to 13″

Northern Pike7 caught · to 34″

Bowfin3 caught · to 22″

Panfish

Bluegill148 caught · to 7″

Redear Sunfish61 caught · to 10″

Warmouth30 caught · to 6″

Yellow Perch19 caught · to 7″

Hybrid Sunfish1 caught · to 2″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead5 caught · to 12″

Forage & nongame

Bluntnose Minnow6 caught · to 2″

Brook Silverside5 caught · to 3″

Banded Killifish1 caught · to 2″

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).

Non-native species records

2 records

Plants & algae

Eurasian Watermilfoil

Other invertebrates

Freshwater Jellyfish

How to identify invasive species in Indiana lakes →

What does non-native mean?

USGS records identify non-native species that have been documented for this lake or its shoreline. Non-native does not necessarily mean invasive, and historical records do not confirm current presence.

Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; underlying nonindigenous species records from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

Quick answers

Hunter Lake — common questions

How deep is Hunter Lake?

The deepest contour on the Indiana DNR bathymetric survey of Hunter Lake is 24 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 Hunter Lake?

Hunter Lake covers about 99 acres in Elkhart County, Indiana.

What fish are in Hunter Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, bowfin, hybrid sunfish, redear sunfish. The page lists all 12 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Hunter Lake?

No public launch for Hunter 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.