Lake Manitou

Fulton County, Indiana · IN DNR bathymetric survey

48ft Max
depth

822 acres 9 contours Public access

Paddling Index36Modest

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Depth scale

05101520253035404548

The lake

Survey readout

Lake Manitou has a reported maximum depth of 48 ft, and covers about 822 acres in Fulton County, Indiana. The Indiana DNR survey maps contours down to 45 ft; the depth between 45 ft and 48 ft is interpolated rather than measured. Depths come from the Indiana DNR survey of 2017.

Measured from the Indiana DNR lake bathymetry survey.

Depth below 45 ft is interpolated. The survey's own contours stop at 45 ft, while it reports a maximum of 48 ft. The basin between those two depths is inferred by the model, not measured — so the shape of the deep hole is an estimate, and the deep-spot marker shows the deepest depth actually surveyed.

Deepest mapped contour: 45 ft
Survey year: 2017
Surface area: 822 acres
Shoreline: 13.74 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 11% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Ramp · Indiana DNR site · 1 more

Additional depth details9 contours

Contour depths: 0–48 ft
Recorded point soundings: 45 ft

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Location

Fulton County, Indiana · all 3 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: 41.04902, -86.17928
IN DNR lake ID: 155352541
Vertical exaggeration: 2.05×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.1 MB

Paddling

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

36 / 100ModestData confidence: High

Lake Manitou has a substantially developed setting, moderate open-water exposure, substantial 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	4.8 of 30	42% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (6% forest, 33% wetland; 47% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Good	9.7 of 25	mean fetch 1,757 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · moderate open-water fetch
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	2 DNR fishing access sites · boat ramp · ADA-accessible · fishing pier
Road isolation	Modest	0.8 of 15	substantial nearby higher-volume roads · 33 INDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 13,287 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 11% 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 33% 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.

Fish you might catch

from DNR surveys

22 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

White Sucker

Gizzard Shad

White Bass

Golden Shiner

Stonecat

Brook Silverside

Starhead Topminnow

About these fish → the Fish of Indiana guide

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 22 species found here — 17 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”)

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.

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

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.

Redear SunfishOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (312 IAC 9-7-14(c))

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

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

Starhead TopminnowRule 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.

StonecatRule 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.

White BassOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 12 (312 IAC 9-7-7) 12 in any combination of white bass and hybrid striped bass, of which not more than two may exceed 17 inches.

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

White SuckerOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: no limit (312 IAC 9-7-14(d) · “Sucker”) Greater redhorse is endangered in Indiana (312 IAC 9-6-9) and may not be taken — identify redhorse carefully.

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 2017 and 2021

1,911Fish sampled

22Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 189 · Channel Catfish 127 · Bowfin 1

Panfish Bluegill 689 · Yellow Perch 468 · Rock Bass 66

All survey species22 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass189 caught · to 18″

Channel Catfish127 caught · to 28″

Bowfin1 caught · to 23″

Panfish

Bluegill689 caught · to 9″

Yellow Perch468 caught · to 12″

Rock Bass66 caught · to 10″

Black Crappie38 caught · to 14″

Redear Sunfish10 caught · to 10″

Warmouth8 caught · to 8″

Pumpkinseed2 caught · to 6″

White Crappie2 caught · to 14″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead5 caught · to 11″

Brown Bullhead2 caught · to 15″

Forage & nongame

Gizzard Shad167 caught · to 17″

Brook Silverside44 caught · to 4″

White Bass40 caught · to 15″

White Sucker26 caught · to 19″

Spotted Gar15 caught · to 27″

Common Carp9 caught · to 28″

Golden Shiner1 caught · to 4″

Starhead Topminnow1 caught · to 2″

Stonecat1 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).

Quick answers

Lake Manitou — common questions

How deep is Lake Manitou?

The Indiana DNR reports a maximum depth of 48 ft for Lake Manitou. The survey's own contours reach 45 ft, so the depth below that is interpolated from the reported maximum rather than mapped.

How big is Lake Manitou?

Lake Manitou covers about 822 acres in Fulton County, Indiana.

What fish are in Lake Manitou?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include channel catfish, largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin, brown bullhead. The page lists all 22 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Lake Manitou?

Yes. The Indiana DNR lists 2 public access sites on Lake Manitou: Lake Manitou (boat ramp); Lake Manitou (boat ramp).

Is the depth of Lake Manitou measured or estimated?

The survey contours reach 45 ft while the survey reports a maximum of 48 ft, so the basin between those depths is inferred by the model rather than measured.

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