Kiser Lake

Kosciusko County, Indiana · IN DNR bathymetric survey

20ft Max
depth

8.4 acres 4 contours Public access

Paddling Index90Excellentaway from major roads · sheltered geometry · wooded shoreline

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Depth scale

05101520

The lake

Survey readout

Kiser Lake is mapped to a depth of 20 ft on the Indiana DNR survey and covers about 8.4 acres in Kosciusko County, Indiana. Depths come from the Indiana DNR survey of 2018.

Measured from the Indiana DNR lake bathymetry survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 20 ft
Survey year: 2018
Surface area: 8.4 acres
Shoreline: 0.48 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 18% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: By water from another ramp · Indiana DNR: “Use Backwater Lake Ramp”

Additional depth details4 contours

Contour depths: 0–20 ft
Recorded point soundings: 20 ft, 5 ft, 5 ft

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Location

Kosciusko County, Indiana · all 14 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: 41.30791, -85.65651
IN DNR lake ID: 155351313
Vertical exaggeration: 3.0× below the waterline; land at true scale
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 0.5 MB

Paddling

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

90 / 100ExcellentData confidence: High

Kiser Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, well sheltered geometry, little nearby major-road exposure. 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	Excellent	30.0 of 30	97% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (33% forest, 63% wetland; 0% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	25.0 of 25	mean fetch 266 m · 100% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controls	None identified	7.5 of 15	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Good	12.8 of 15	1 DNR fishing access site · DNR directs boaters to a ramp on connected water
Road isolation	Excellent	15.0 of 15	relatively isolated from major roads · 1 INDOT-classified segment within 1.2 km, peak 772 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: High — narrow throughout — passing wakes would reach most of the water
Aquatic vegetation: Moderate — approximately 18% 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: High — 33% forest and 63% 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), IN DNR Fishing Access Sites (2026-08) and INDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (2021). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fishing rules

No recent catch, survey, or stocking data for this lake — but a fisheries order still governs it.

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Rules that apply to this water, whatever you are fishing for.

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.

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.

312 IAC 9-7-4(c) names this water: Muskellunge and tiger muskellunge here must be at least 44 inches (312 IAC 9-7-4(c)), not the statewide 36; one per day in total.

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)).

Official rule text for this lake

“An individual must not take or possess a muskellunge or tiger muskellunge unless that muskellunge or tiger muskellunge is at least forty-four (44) inches long from the following lakes in Kosciusko County: (3) Kiser Lake.” — 312 IAC 9-7-4(c), 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

Non-native species records

No non-native species recorded in the available dataset. This does not confirm that no non-native species are present.

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

Quick answers

Kiser Lake — common questions

How deep is Kiser Lake?

The deepest contour on the Indiana DNR bathymetric survey of Kiser Lake is 20 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 Kiser Lake?

Kiser Lake covers about 8.4 acres in Kosciusko County, Indiana.

Is there public access to Kiser Lake?

The Indiana DNR lists Kiser Lake as open to the public by water rather than from a ramp of its own: its access record reads "Kiser Lake (Use Backwater Lake Ramp)". The launch is on connected water, not on Kiser Lake itself.

More lakes in Kosciusko County