Lukens Lake

Wabash County, Indiana · IN DNR bathymetric survey

39ft Max
depth

47 acres 11 contours

Paddling Index66MixedMedium confidencesheltered geometry · away from major roads

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Depth scale

031218243039

The lake

Survey readout

Lukens Lake is mapped to a depth of 39 ft on the Indiana DNR survey and covers about 47 acres in Wabash County, Indiana.

Measured from the Indiana DNR lake bathymetry survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 39 ft
Surface area: 47 acres
Shoreline: 1.18 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 3% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details11 contours

Contour depths: 0–39 ft
Recorded point soundings: 39 ft, 12 ft

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Location

Wabash 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: 40.97039, -85.93368
IN DNR lake ID: lukens-lake
Vertical exaggeration: 2.35×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.0 MB

Paddling

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

66 / 100MixedData confidence: Medium

Lukens Lake has a partly natural setting, well sheltered geometry, limited 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	Good	18.6 of 35	62% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (38% forest, 22% wetland; 28% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	25.4 of 29	mean fetch 587 m · 22% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
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	Very Good	13.0 of 18	limited nearby major-road exposure · 4 INDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 325 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: Moderate — narrow in places — wakes would carry across parts 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 — 38% forest and 22% 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

13 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

Largemouth Bass

Sucker

White Sucker

Gizzard Shad

Lake Chubsucker

About these fish → the Fish of Indiana guide

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 13 species found here — 10 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”)

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

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)).

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”)

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)).

Green 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.

Lake ChubsuckerOpen 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.

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))

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.

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 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”)

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

232Fish sampled

13Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 95

Panfish Bluegill 65 · Redear Sunfish 11 · Warmouth 10

All survey species13 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass95 caught · to 16″

Panfish

Bluegill65 caught · to 9″

Redear Sunfish11 caught · to 8″

Warmouth10 caught · to 7″

Green Sunfish1 caught · to 4″

Pumpkinseed1 caught · to 4″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead12 caught · to 10″

Brown Bullhead2 caught · to 12″

Forage & nongame

White Sucker17 caught · to 17″

Gizzard Shad8 caught · to 15″

Common Carp4 caught · to 30″

Sucker4 caught · to 17″

Lake Chubsucker2 caught · to 10″

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

1 record

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

Lukens Lake — common questions

How deep is Lukens Lake?

The deepest contour on the Indiana DNR bathymetric survey of Lukens Lake is 39 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 Lukens Lake?

Lukens Lake covers about 47 acres in Wabash County, Indiana.

What fish are in Lukens Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, bluegill, brown bullhead, green sunfish, pumpkinseed, redear sunfish. The page lists all 13 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Lukens Lake?

No public launch for Lukens 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.