Indiana Lake

Elkhart County, Indiana · IN DNR bathymetric survey

68ft Max
depth

123 acres 13 contours

Paddling Index38ModestMedium confidencesheltered geometry

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Depth scale

0515253545556568

The lake

Survey readout

Indiana Lake is mapped to a depth of 68 ft on the Indiana DNR survey and covers about 123 acres in Elkhart County, Indiana. Depths come from the Indiana DNR survey of 2014.

Measured from the Indiana DNR lake bathymetry survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 68 ft
Survey year: 2014
Surface area: 123 acres
Shoreline: 2.12 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 1% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details13 contours

Contour depths: 0–68 ft
Recorded point soundings: 68 ft

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Location

Elkhart County, Indiana · all 4 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: 41.75857, -85.83272
IN DNR lake ID: 155638929
Vertical exaggeration: 1.4×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.1 MB

Paddling

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

38 / 100ModestData confidence: Medium

Indiana Lake has a substantially developed setting, generally 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	Modest	1.6 of 35	30% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (12% forest, 18% wetland; 47% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Very Good	20.9 of 29	mean fetch 809 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch
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	6.9 of 18	nearby higher-volume roads · 7 INDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 2,125 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 1% 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 — 12% forest and 18% 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

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

Cisco

Hybrid Sunfish

About these fish → the Fish of Indiana guide

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 14 species found here — 11 open to harvest, 1 with a special rule or closed season.

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.

CiscoClosedEndangered in Indiana — it is illegal to take or possess this fish at any time (312 IAC 9-6-9; IC 14-22-34-12). Release it immediately, unharmed.

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

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.

Indiana–Michigan boundary lake: the Michigan side is Cass County, Michigan. Residents of Indiana or Michigan may fish the whole lake, but must abide by the regulations in the waters they are fishing. Nonresident license holders (for either state) may only fish in the waters under which the jurisdiction applies for that nonresident license. (2026-27 Indiana Fishing Regulations Guide, p. 10 (Border Waters))

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”)

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

CiscoClosedEndangered in Indiana — it is illegal to take or possess this fish at any time (312 IAC 9-6-9; IC 14-22-34-12). Release it immediately, unharmed.

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.

Longnose GarOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no limit (312 IAC 9-7-14(d) · “Gar”)

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.

Rock BassOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (312 IAC 9-7-11)

Smallmouth 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.

WalleyeOpen to harvestMinimum size: 16" · Daily limit: 6 (312 IAC 9-7-12(b) · north of State Road 26) Walleye minimum here is 16 inches because the lake lies north of State Road 26. The 6 is in any combination of walleye, sauger and saugeye.

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.

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 2014

167Fish sampled

14Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 28 · Smallmouth Bass 16 · Northern Pike 1 · Walleye 1

Panfish Bluegill 33 · Rock Bass 24 · Warmouth 11

All survey species14 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass28 caught · to 20″

Smallmouth Bass16 caught · to 13″

Northern Pike1 caught · to 13″

Walleye1 caught · to 20″

Panfish

Bluegill33 caught · to 9″

Rock Bass24 caught · to 9″

Warmouth11 caught · to 7″

Yellow Perch6 caught · to 11″

Black Crappie3 caught · to 11″

Hybrid Sunfish1 caught · to 8″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead22 caught · to 13″

Brown Bullhead6 caught · to 14″

Forage & nongame

Longnose Gar11 caught · to 43″

Cisco4 caught · to 15″

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

Indiana Lake — common questions

How deep is Indiana Lake?

The deepest contour on the Indiana DNR bathymetric survey of Indiana Lake is 68 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 Indiana Lake?

Indiana Lake covers about 123 acres in Elkhart County, Indiana.

What fish are in Indiana Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, black crappie, bluegill. The page lists all 14 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Indiana Lake?

No public launch for Indiana 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 Elkhart County