Spear Lake

Kosciusko County, Indiana · IN DNR bathymetric survey

40ft Max
depth

41 acres 8 contours Public access

Paddling Index97Excellentaway from major roads · electric motors only · sheltered geometry

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Depth scale

0510152025303540

The lake

Survey readout

Spear Lake is mapped to a depth of 40 ft on the Indiana DNR survey and covers about 41 acres in Kosciusko County, Indiana.

Measured from the Indiana DNR lake bathymetry survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 40 ft
Surface area: 41 acres
Shoreline: 1.24 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 3% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Ramp · Indiana DNR site

Additional depth details8 contours

Contour depths: 0–40 ft
Recorded point soundings: 40 ft, 15 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).

⚠ Not for navigation

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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: 41.35510, -85.66640
IN DNR lake ID: spear-lake
Vertical exaggeration: 2.32× below the waterline; land at true scale
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 1.4 MB

Paddling

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

97 / 100ExcellentData confidence: High

Spear Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, well sheltered geometry, little nearby major-road exposure. Watercraft controls: Electric motors only.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Excellent	30.0 of 30	96% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (34% forest, 62% wetland; 0% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	24.5 of 25	mean fetch 483 m · 59% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controls	Electric motors only	14.2 of 15	Electric motors only
Public access	Good	12.8 of 15	1 DNR fishing access site · boat ramp · fishing pier
Road isolation	Excellent	15.0 of 15	relatively isolated from major roads · 0 INDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km

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: High — 34% forest and 62% 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

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).

Lake Chubsucker

Golden Shiner

Brook Silverside

About these fish → the Fish of Indiana guide

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 12 species found here — 7 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.

Largemouth BassSpecial rulesLargemouth bass here: 2 per day, at least 18 inches (312 IAC 9-7-6(i)) — not the statewide 5 at 14 inches. Applies here because the lake lies inside Tri-County Fish & Wildlife Area.

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.

This lake lies inside Tri-County Fish & Wildlife Area, which 312 IAC 9-7-6(i)(1) names as a whole: largemouth bass are 2 per day at 18 inches on every water of the property. Other property rules (electric motors only) are set by the DNR for the area; the property's seasonal closure is in the season note below.

Seasonal closure — a property rule, not the fishing code: Spear Lake is closed from youth waterfowl season until ice-up. All bodies of water remain closed to visitors, except for registered waterfowl hunters, during waterfowl hunting seasons. Quoted from the DNR's Tri-County Fish & Wildlife Area property page (read 2026-09-17); posted property rules bind under 312 IAC 8-2-1. The DNR gives no calendar dates, so none are shown here — check the property before you go. Outside the closure the fishing code sets no season for these species. 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”)

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”)

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).

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.

Longear 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.

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

Redfin PickerelRule 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.

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

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”)

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

“An individual must not take or possess more than two (2) largemouth bass per day, and an individual must not take or possess a largemouth bass unless the largemouth bass is at least eighteen (18) inches long from the following designated waters: (1) Tri-County State Fish and Wildlife Area.” — 312 IAC 9-7-6(i), 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 2018

981Fish sampled

12Species

Gamefish Largemouth Bass 64

Panfish Bluegill 769 · Redear Sunfish 89 · Warmouth 8

All survey species12 species

Gamefish

Largemouth Bass64 caught · to 23″

Panfish

Bluegill769 caught · to 8″

Redear Sunfish89 caught · to 9″

Warmouth8 caught · to 7″

Longear Sunfish1 caught · to 7″

Bullhead & catfish

Brown Bullhead15 caught · to 13″

Yellow Bullhead1 caught · to 8″

Forage & nongame

Lake Chubsucker19 caught · to 9″

Spotted Gar10 caught · to 27″

Redfin Pickerel3 caught · to 9″

Brook Silverside1 caught · to 3″

Golden Shiner1 caught · to 4″

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

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

Spear Lake — common questions

How deep is Spear Lake?

The deepest contour on the Indiana DNR bathymetric survey of Spear Lake is 40 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 Spear Lake?

Spear Lake covers about 41 acres in Kosciusko County, Indiana.

What fish are in Spear Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, bluegill, brown bullhead, redear sunfish, warmouth, yellow bullhead. The page lists all 12 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Spear Lake?

Yes. The Indiana DNR lists a public access site on Spear Lake: a boat ramp with a fishing pier and a boat dock. The DNR records no fee. DNR directions: "At Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area."

More lakes in Kosciusko County