(Un)official Hoosiers Thread

[CroakHunter]

Bass weren't cooperating well so we took some dough balls and caught some catfish

[tstraub]

Does anybody live near Tippecanoe?  A few years ago my son, father-in-law, and I floated the Tippecanoe in a Jon boat and had real good fishing and terrible boating. The river was real shallow and we had to portage several times to get around but when we found deeper water we caught loads of rock bass, several small mouth, a few large mouth and one real nice walleye.  

Anyway after a few months of paperwork my boat is registered. I was warned not to buy a boat without a HIN but I didn't listen lol. I'm off work the next 3 days and I'm looking to make a trip. Looks like rain today and tomorrow but dry on Monday so I thinking that river might be more navigable.  Just wondering if anyone drives past that river on a regular basis and could give me a report of the conditions before I drive 45 miles to look for myself.

Thanks Tyler

[tstraub]

I took two of my boys on a little river float this morning.  We dropped in the Tippecanoe North of Rochester and motored up steam a mile or so and fished back.  My oldest caught 2 smallies and a large mouth.  My youngest and I blanked out.  All in all it was a good trip and my youngest is now hooked on floating the river. It was his first float because I never had a river boat until recently.  I was very happy with the way that little 2hp motor handles river current.  It's not fast but it was plenty strong enough to to the job.

[LxVE Bassin]

Anybody fished Mississinewa lately? Any insight on the current water clarity or what’s been working out there.

[tstraub]

2 hours ago, LxVE Bassin said:

Anybody fished Mississinewa lately? Any insight on the current water clarity or what’s been working out there.

I live about 15 minutes form there but don't fish it often because i just have a 14 foot semi v and I get pushed around from all the wake of the faster boats.  The first week of July my father in law brought his big boat over and we fished it for about half a day.  it was real hot air temp in the 90s I caught 1 small mouth real quick near the Miami ramp then nothing for a long time. We tried deep we tried shallow, we drove around watching the sonar but we could not get a bite.  Eventually we did find a school of white bass real shadow in 2-3 feet of water next to an island out from the beach area.  That's the most recent info I have for you.  I hope you have better luck than we did.  

[LxVE Bassin]

1 hour ago, tstraub said:

I live about 15 minutes form there but don't fish it often because i just have a 14 foot semi v and I get pushed around from all the wake of the faster boats.  The first week of July my father in law brought his big boat over and we fished it for about half a day.  it was real hot air temp in the 90s I caught 1 small mouth real quick near the Miami ramp then nothing for a long time. We tried deep we tried shallow, we drove around watching the sonar but we could not get a bite.  Eventually we did find a school of white bass real shadow in 2-3 feet of water next to an island out from the beach area.  That's the most recent info I have for you.  I hope you have better luck than we did.  

Appreciate it. Sounds like it’s about to be a tough one but that’s Indiana for you.

[The Bassman]

Got out this morning and had some good action with t-rigged Hula Stickz and Zara Spook Puppy just for fun.  Caught two 3 lb.r's and one 4 in addition to several smaller. Strikes on the Spook can be deceiving in that they sometimes just suck it in like it's a big bug.  My 4 hit that way.  Also,  managed a couple of wades earlier this past week.  Fished Sugar Creek just south of me.  It's an easier wade than most due largely to it's sand streambed.  I have trouble anymore dealing with uneven rock areas because of an ankle issue.  Didn't catch any bigs but there's no comparing the experience to fishing the neighborhood lakes I frequent. Lots of peace and quiet and the whole nature thing.

[LxVE Bassin]

Mississinewa was pretty dead. The crankbait bite was on for drum. Drums were attacking everything from jigs, crankbait, and chatterbaits.

[The Bassman]

Need to wake this thread up.  Fished in a downpour this evening with good results.  Got thoroughly soaked but the fish didn't care. (They were already wet). Caught several fun size on a Rippin' Rap. Action slowed as the rain persisted or I just got cold and inattentive.

[CroakHunter]

Hopefully headed out on the big stratos this weekend. If we don't catch any at least we'll have 225 hp worth of fun. 

[CroakHunter]

Anybody fished turtle creek at hoosier energy lately...or ever?

[CroakHunter]

Fun day up at merom today. Caught about half a dozen. It was fun flipping trees in 25 feet of water 10 feet off the bank. About 300 acres was 85 degree water. The other 1200 was hovering near or over 100 degrees

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

41 minutes ago, CroakHunter said:

Fun day up at merom today. Caught about half a dozen. It was fun flipping trees in 25 feet of water 10 feet off the bank. About 300 acres was 85 degree water. The other 1200 was hovering near or over 100 degrees

Used to fish a small lake south of merom, near vincennes, but on the other side of the wabash as a kid.  I think it's called lake lawrence.  That little lake is where I got hooked on rippin lips!

[Alan Reed]

I and several others I regularly fish with have found the past 2-3 weeks challenging. Lots of dinks and very little size. What’s been your experience?

[Team9nine]

Not the wide open bite of spring, but plenty of fish with a decent fish or three usually in the mix. Been catching between 10-25 bass per trip, usually 2-3 trips per week, and most around 2 hours or less. Crappie bite has been stellar on larger waters with never under 100 fish per trip all summer long (those are usually 4-6 hr trips). Bite should only get better as we start to see some cooler days ahead this month. Other than not getting the boat out near as much this year, I can't complain.

[The Bassman]

My biggest regret this season was the near absence of creek wading.  Will always be a smallmouth angler at heart.

[CroakHunter]

Saturday is tourney day. They are projecting about 57 inches of rain that day so it should be fun!

[The Bassman]

Had a real good morning.  Lots of drizzle and October-like temps and lots of bass. To quote @Team9ninethe "sucker shot" paid off.  In this case it was all the runoff coming into the ponds from the storm drains. Probably caught 30 or so, most 1-2 lbs. but several pushing 3.

[Eric86]

Going out tomorrow morning to a 20 acre pit with an average depth of 10 foot.  With all this cold rain should I expect them to be feeding or turned off?  Can't wait to test out the lake fork frog trailer hooks.  I have caught several nice bass and seen quite a few during spawn there.

[Eric86]

Ended up going to Bluegrass, Loon pit instead.  It was a little bittersweet.  I hooked a toad and he jumped and threw my frog.  I can still see it perfectly a few feet above the water.  Anyone else fish bluegrass?

[Alan Reed]

3 hours ago, Eric86 said:

Ended up going to Bluegrass, Loon pit instead.  It was a little bittersweet.  I hooked a toad and he jumped and threw my frog.  I can still see it perfectly a few feet above the water.  Anyone else fish bluegrass?

Yes, I have a few times. It is a bit of a drive for me but I have several friends in the area.

[The Bassman]

Caught the storm drain bite again today after the rain.  Have no idea how many I caught but many were 3-4 lbs. These events really spoil you.

[The Bassman]

Had a very cool experience while fishing one of the HOA lakes close to me this evening.  Was privileged to witness a bald eagle circle then swoop down and catch what appeared to be about a foot long shad. Reminded me of the old Eagle Claw commercials.

[BigBassLoveSenkos]

On 10/5/2018 at 8:37 PM, The Bassman said:

Had a very cool experience while fishing one of the HOA lakes close to me this evening.  Was privileged to witness a bald eagle circle then swoop down and catch what appeared to be about a foot long shad. Reminded me of the old Eagle Claw commercials.

Sounds awesome!  Bald eagles are the ultimate predators.  I once saw one take out a large hawk that had just grabbed itself a rodent.  

[IndianaOutdoors]

I have some time off work this week and next. Hopefully will be spending a few days on the water.  Anybody been on any patterns lately?  I'll probably stick to the natural lakes up north since that last rain turned the res and river to chocolate.