Dewart Lake-
Kosciusko County, Indiana:

Dewart Lake is a 551 acre natural lake, most likely created by a glacier during the last ice age, located three miles south of Syracuse.  It lies within the Elkhart River watershed and drains 5,152 acres.  Two small inlets enter on the east side and the outlet, Hammond Ditch, leaves the west side and flows to Waubee Lake.  Maximum depth is 82 feet and average depth is 16 1/3 feet.  Large areas on the north and south sides of the lake are less than 5 feet deep. Hydraulic retention time is 601 days.  Farming is the main watershed use, although woodlots and wetlands are present.  Nearly all of the shoreline is residentially developed.  Areas of natural shoreline and wetlands are present along the south shore and in the northeast corner adjacent to a private camp.  A state-owned boat ramp is available in the northwest corner on CR 300E.

Dewart Lake is moderately fertile.  Its trophic index is 36.  Enough oxygen is present for fish 20 deep but levels drop too low below 20 feet (<4 ppm.).  Water clarity varies from 6 through 13 1/2 feet.  The bottom is mostly sand and muck, but boulders and gravel are also present.   Eurasian Water Millfol is the dominant submerged aquatic plant.  (The lake was treated for this non-indeginoous plant in 2006.)  Cattails, spatterdock and water lilies are the major emergent plants.   In recent years, an extensive cattail stand along the south shore has been replaced with lilies.

Past management at Dewart Lake has been directed at maintaining the native fishery and creating walleye fishing opportunities (Table 2).  From 1982 - 1990, about 131,000 fingerlings and 1.6 million fry were stocked.  Although stocking fry and 2 inch fingerlings was not successful, larger fingerlings provided better walleye fishing opportunities.  State-sponsored stockings were discontinued due to poor survival of small fingerlings and a lack of large fingerlings.  Stocking continued between 2000-2003 by the Polish National Alliance Fisherman's Club and the Dewart Lake Association.

Click here for the diagnostic synopsis as presented by JF New: