(Un)official Hoosiers Thread

[IndianaFinesse]

13 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Welcome - and yes, that's me/mine. After 10 years, I've officially "closed" it, though it will stay up for at least another year archived as it still gets a lot of traffic. In the mean time, if you haven't figured it out yet, by clicking on the Spoonplugging book icon on the main page, you'll be taken to my latest interest and site.

-T9

 

My mistake then, I didn't realize you had actually closed it.  I guess that's what "so long and thanks for all the fish" meant, I wasn't sure what to think of that.  I'll miss your posts on there.

Oh, and to avoid snagging those catfish, i'll just use tip-ups baited with small pieces of cut shad, that way it's impossible to snag them. 

[Team9nine]

20 hours ago, IndianaFinesse said:

My mistake then, I didn't realize you had actually closed it.  I guess that's what "so long and thanks for all the fish" meant, I wasn't sure what to think of that.  I'll miss your posts on there.

Oh, and to avoid snagging those catfish, i'll just use tip-ups baited with small pieces of cut shad, that way it's impossible to snag them. 

 

"So Long and Thanks For All the Fish" is a reference to the book by the same name (by Douglass Adams), part of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series....started way before your time (the first in 1979) 

 

Some details and explanation

 

Will be very interested to hear your results from the tip-up fishing. especially whether any of the fish you might hook will actually fit through the hole in the ice  Some lakes seem to have decent ice fishing for cats, and some don't. Not certain which way our lake leans.

 

-T9

 

 

[jerrylee0925]

Hi

I am new to Indiana and fishing. Could anybody tell me that when does pre-spawn start next year in Indiana. What bait should I use. I am also looking for some bank fishing spots near eagle creek any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[IndianaFinesse]

3 hours ago, jerrylee0925 said:

Hi

I am new to Indiana and fishing. Could anybody tell me that when does pre-spawn start next year in Indiana. What bait should I use. I am also looking for some bank fishing spots near eagle creek any suggestions?

Thanks

 

Everyone has a different definition of pre-spawn, but if you mean when they start getting active it's around 45 degrees.  The right lure choice depends entirely on the conditions, but there are a few standards that seem to work every year.  Suspending jerkbaits when the fish are suspended and the water is fairly clear, ned rigs just about all the time when they're near or on the bottom, small bucktails in cold water, jigs around wood cover, rattle traps once the water warms up a bit, etc.  The eagle creek dam and all of the bridges crossing it seem to work year round there, plus there's decent fishing in the river outlet for smallmouth. 

 

 

Anyone got any ice fishing reports yet?  We've got five inches of clear ice here, so I'm going to head out tomorrow to see if I can't get some fish.

[jerrylee0925]

13 hours ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Everyone has a different definition of pre-spawn, but if you mean when they start getting active it's around 45 degrees.  The right lure choice depends entirely on the conditions, but there are a few standards that seem to work every year.  Suspending jerkbaits when the fish are suspended and the water is fairly clear, ned rigs just about all the time when they're near or on the bottom, small bucktails in cold water, jigs around wood cover, rattle traps once the water warms up a bit, etc.  The eagle creek dam and all of the bridges crossing it seem to work year round there, plus there's decent fishing in the river outlet for smallmouth. 

 

 

Anyone got any ice fishing reports yet?  We've got five inches of clear ice here, so I'm going to head out tomorrow to see if I can't get some fish.

 

Thanks for your reply. I have tried ned rigs during the fall. It always gets hung up on the bottom at least once in ten cast. I am wondering if I am doing something wrong or it is normal.

[OddChase]

3 hours ago, jerrylee0925 said:

Thanks for your reply. I have tried ned rigs during the fall. It always gets hung up on the bottom at least once in ten cast. I am wondering if I am doing something wrong or it is normal.

You can catch bass as soon as the ice melts. However prespawn is generally around 45 to 50 degrees, and spawn starts around 55. When fishing the Ned, I typically have two kinds of retrieves. Low n slow - which is what I assume you practice. Getting hung up but able to catch finicky fish. Or you can go with a quick jig retrieve which is constantly reeling and just twitching your rod tip to give the T(u)RD some action and keep it up out of the rocks. I find this retrieve is especially good for smallies in rivers. 

 

Tight lines. 

 

16 hours ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Anyone got any ice fishing reports yet?  We've got five inches of clear ice here, so I'm going to head out tomorrow to see if I can't get some fish.

I'm hoping to try my hand at ice fishing on Summit this winter. However I've heard there is only half an inch of ice on the lake so far. 

[HoosierHawgs]

18 hours ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Everyone has a different definition of pre-spawn, but if you mean when they start getting active it's around 45 degrees.  The right lure choice depends entirely on the conditions, but there are a few standards that seem to work every year.  Suspending jerkbaits when the fish are suspended and the water is fairly clear, ned rigs just about all the time when they're near or on the bottom, small bucktails in cold water, jigs around wood cover, rattle traps once the water warms up a bit, etc.  The eagle creek dam and all of the bridges crossing it seem to work year round there, plus there's decent fishing in the river outlet for smallmouth. 

 

 

Anyone got any ice fishing reports yet?  We've got five inches of clear ice here, so I'm going to head out tomorrow to see if I can't get some fish.

Stupid question, but to clarify... When you say temperature, are you talking air or water? Thanks. 

[IndianaFinesse]

On ‎12‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 3:28 PM, HoosierHawgs said:

Stupid question, but to clarify... When you say temperature, are you talking air or water? Thanks. 

Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I've been trying to get as much time as possible in ice fishing before Sunday's rain melts it off. 

I meant water temperature, air temperature doesn't directly effect them.  Often the air temperature varies greatly during the early spring, so it's hard to guess much based on that.  You can catch bass any time of the year though, I have just noticed a decrease in activity level below 45 degrees. 

 

Got out ice fishing on Wednesday, Thursday afternoon, and today.  Spent the first couple hours drilling holes on Wednesday trying to find the catfish hole again, but I couldn't find them.  My depth finder doesn't have a GPS, so I can't drop waypoints with it.  I tried to do it the old fashioned way by triangulating it, but apparently my triangulating skills are pretty bad.  Gave up around noon and switched to crappie and bluegill fishing.  I found them in 16 feet of water with quick access to deep water (in that little pocket by the dam Brian), all of them hugging bottom.  We caught a little of everything there, about sixty bluegill and warmouth, five nice crappie, a four nice largemouth (who says you can't catch bass through the ice), and some white bass.  The majority hit a 1/100 ounce horizontal jig with an atomic wishbone and a wax worm fished with a steady pounding/vibrating motion near bottom, but some ate minnows, blood worm imitations, panfish asassins, etc.  Ended with a total of 75 fish for the day, a great day on ice in my book. 

Managed to make some time to go fishing yesterday afternoon again, but only for a few hours.  This time I fished the opposite end of the lake from where I was yesterday, toward the upper end at the opening of a cove with scattered brush on the edge of a flat.  Caught 22 big bluegill, 3 white bass, 2 largemouth, and a 15 inch walleye in that spot, the bluegill and bass in a horizontal jig with a wishbone plastic and a wax worm kept still right above the bottom, and the white bass and walleye hit a minnow.  The first two walleye I've ever caught at this lake in a year and a half of fishing it, and they were within three weeks of each other for whatever reason. 

Got out ice fishing today, again fishing the upper end of the lake.  Started out at the same spot, and right off the bat got some big bluegill and a solid 17 inch largemouth.  That bass put up a challenging fight on four pound line and a light powered rod, it felt bigger than a lot of the 3-4 pounders I've caught.  Then it shut down, so I moved around the lake for an hour or two looking for some more, but had nothing to show for it.  Walked back to the same spot I had fished earlier around 4 o-clock.  The fish were hitting big time now, they usually bit as soon as I picked the jig off the bottom from the initial drop.  Went from only a dozen fish to 55 big bluegill in only an hour and a half, the frozen rain mixed with pea sized hail that came down for the last 45 minutes didn't even seem to bother them at all.  Wasn't a whole lot of fun to fish in the hail, but it was mostly freezing rain, and the eight to nine and a half inch bluegill made it all worth it. 

[Team9nine]

Sounds like some great fishing. That catfish hole isn't easy to find on ice unless you have it marked. A couple years ago a guy left a buoy out there during open water to freeze so he could go out on the ice and fish it. With highs from 40s to near 60 and more rain the next 3 days, that will probably put a hurt on the ice safety. Then the gates get closed on January 2nd, so the lake will start rising again and that might make the ice very unstable for a while. If it ever does refreeze and get safe enough, I'll have to meet up with you out there late one afternoon. Been about 15 years since I last ice fished. 

 

-T9

[IndianaFinesse]

15 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Sounds like some great fishing. That catfish hole isn't easy to find on ice unless you have it marked. A couple years ago a guy left a buoy out there during open water to freeze so he could go out on the ice and fish it. With highs from 40s to near 60 and more rain the next 3 days, that will probably put a hurt on the ice safety. Then the gates get closed on January 2nd, so the lake will start rising again and that might make the ice very unstable for a while. If it ever does refreeze and get safe enough, I'll have to meet up with you out there late one afternoon. Been about 15 years since I last ice fished. 

 

-T9

The weather forecast definitely doesn't look so good for ice fishing, hopefully the ice will be thick enough to go fishing on it sometime in the next few weeks. 

Sounds like a plan, i'll let you know when the ice gets at least four inches thick so we can meet up for some ice fishing.  I haven't been able to ice fish much either, only gone ice fishing six or seven times before, but it seems like they are in the same areas and biting down sized versions of what they were just prior to ice up.

[The Bassman]

19 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Sounds like some great fishing. That catfish hole isn't easy to find on ice unless you have it marked. A couple years ago a guy left a buoy out there during open water to freeze so he could go out on the ice and fish it. With highs from 40s to near 60 and more rain the next 3 days, that will probably put a hurt on the ice safety. Then the gates get closed on January 2nd, so the lake will start rising again and that might make the ice very unstable for a while. If it ever does refreeze and get safe enough, I'll have to meet up with you out there late one afternoon. Been about 15 years since I last ice fished. 

 

-T9

 

It's been over 20 for me.  I used to live for winter.  Would spend all day walking the upper end of Monroe.  I've gotten soft since then.  The last time I went was Jan. '96 on a small pond with our church's assistant pastor.  As my hands started to warm up and ache I told him to take my gear and not let me have it back. But with reports like this............sometimes I rethink this.  You guys are having an effect on me!

[HoosierHawgs]

On 12/23/2016 at 8:35 PM, IndianaFinesse said:

Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I've been trying to get as much time as possible in ice fishing before Sunday's rain melts it off. 

I meant water temperature, air temperature doesn't directly effect them.  Often the air temperature varies greatly during the early spring, so it's hard to guess much based on that.  You can catch bass any time of the year though, I have just noticed a decrease in activity level below 45 degrees. 

Ok, great. Thanks for the information. I figured you meant water temps but wasn't sure. I really haven't been out fishing but a handful (as in like 5) times this year which is just plain sad. My goal for next year is to be ok the water or in the field 100+ times in 2017, so it's going to take some effort.

 

In other news I think we should plan an India-no-place meetup for 2017. We could do an annual, bi-annual, or seasonal meet up if you guys wanted to do a few. It would be a neat thing to get together, eat, and talk fishing, trucks, sports, whatever. I'm on the west side in the burbs about 20 minutes out from the heart of downtown, but I'd be willing to travel about an hour or so for this. Somewhere in the Central indy area would be best, and I'm more available Saturday evenings than anything else. Just let me know what you guys think of this and any ideas of a good place to have a meet! 

[The Bassman]

Sounds like you're not too far from where I grew up, just across the Coke field from the track.  I'm southeast now (Wanamaker).

Wouldn't mind meeting fellow anglers.

[Alan Reed]

1 hour ago, HoosierHawgs said:

Ok, great. Thanks for the information. I figured you meant water temps but wasn't sure. I really haven't been out fishing but a handful (as in like 5) times this year which is just plain sad. My goal for next year is to be ok the water or in the field 100+ times in 2017, so it's going to take some effort.

 

In other news I think we should plan an India-no-place meetup for 2017. We could do an annual, bi-annual, or seasonal meet up if you guys wanted to do a few. It would be a neat thing to get together, eat, and talk fishing, trucks, sports, whatever. I'm on the west side in the burbs about 20 minutes out from the heart of downtown, but I'd be willing to travel about an hour or so for this. Somewhere in the Central indy area would be best, and I'm more available Saturday evenings than anything else. Just let me know what you guys think of this and any ideas of a good place to have a meet! 

I'd be down for meeting up with others.  I'm located in Columbus and would also be willing to travel and hour or so.

[lonnie g]

On ‎12‎/‎25‎/‎2015 at 9:45 PM, HoosierHawgs said:

With the new update (which I really like) there is no longer a "friends" function, but now a new "following" function instead. Before the update I was friends with as many of the members who are from or live in Indiana as possible. I attempt to keep up with the local happenings and folks here on the form who are also Hoosiers. They offer relevant fishing information and news of local happenings and goings on. So where are those Hoosier members? I know there are plenty of you on these boards besides me! Feel free to post here with anything going on in the state, and where you guys are whacking those fish at of course!  

 

As for me, I'm from the Central part of the State, West of Indianapolis. Catch most of my fish out of small lakes and creeks by the house, always nice to be within a 5 minute drive of the house! I do get out and about and fish Racoon and Eagle Creek from time to time, although not as often as I'd like anymore. Hopefully that will change next year.

 

Happy Holidays

 

Hoosier

how is the fishing in raccoon lake?  we camp a lot and I like to do it where there is a lake  so I can fish of course. what do fish like there.  plastics top water etc...  happy new year catch big ones  !! lonnie 

[lonnie g]

On ‎12‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 6:03 PM, The Bassman said:

 

It's been over 20 for me.  I used to live for winter.  Would spend all day walking the upper end of Monroe.  I've gotten soft since then.  The last time I went was Jan. '96 on a small pond with our church's assistant pastor.  As my hands started to warm up and ache I told him to take my gear and not let me have it back. But with reports like this............sometimes I rethink this.  You guys are having an effect on me!

fishing with cousin and brother on lay lake in Alabama got me spoiled   used to love ice as well   living in southern part of Indiana  we haven't gotten much in last few years.   wonder if older age has anything to do with it ?   happy new year keep tight lines  lonnie

[HoosierHawgs]

4 hours ago, lonnie g said:

how is the fishing in raccoon lake?  we camp a lot and I like to do it where there is a lake  so I can fish of course. what do fish like there.  plastics top water etc...  happy new year catch big ones  !! lonnie 

It's been a minute since I've been on raccoon, or really fished at all due to time constraints in 2016 but the last time I was there I fished an xr50 and caught a few if that helps, although I probably should have brought along a 7" power worm and I might've caught more numbers. Hope this helps. 

[HoosierHawgs]

Went to the Central Indy tackle stores today. Got a few clearance baits @ Honey Creek Tackle, and then struck out @ Mooresville Tackle Service Center. Did get lucky and got the some nice surprises @ Westside Bait and Tackle. Storm Arashi's for $5, Yamamoto harbaits for $4, Sebile Hardbaits for $6, and Chuggin Spooks for $3. I also got a 7' Medium Power Fast Action Fenwick HMG for $65 

[frosty]

5 hours ago, HoosierHawgs said:

Went to the Central Indy tackle stores today. Got a few clearance baits @ Honey Creek Tackle, and then struck out @ Mooresville Tackle Service Center. Did get lucky and got the some nice surprises @ Westside Bait and Tackle. Storm Arashi's for $5, Yamamoto harbaits for $4, Sebile Hardbaits for $6, and Chuggin Spooks for $3. I also got a 7' Medium Power Fast Action Fenwick HMG for $65 

I've been to honey creek tackle, and I know where the store is in mooresville, but I've never heard of west side bait and tackle. Where is it located?

[HoosierHawgs]

Just now, frosty said:

I've been to honey creek tackle, and I know where the store is in mooresville, but I've never heard of west side bait and tackle. Where is it located?

It's on Vermont Street, right next to the Zoo, and White River State park. It's right across the river and bridge from the IUPUI campus of that makes any sense 

[frosty]

2 minutes ago, HoosierHawgs said:

It's on Vermont Street, right next to the Zoo, and White River State park. It's right across the river and bridge from the IUPUI campus of that makes any sense 

Yep, perfect sense. My wife drives by there everyday. Next time I'm in the area making deliveries I'll have to stop by there. Thanks 

[HoosierHawgs]

3 minutes ago, frosty said:

Yep, perfect sense. My wife drives by there everyday. Next time I'm in the area making deliveries I'll have to stop by there. Thanks 

Of course. The store is a lot more organized than it used to be. This time they didn't have any worthwhile bait casting equipment FYI. They don't move much of it, so they don't keep a ton of it in stock. The rods take a little looking through, it took me about 20 minutes to find the gem I did, but it's brand new, and at a $30 markdown. They're customer service is always great, and they take time to talk to repeat customers and for that they will continue to have my business. 

Edited January 3, 2017 by HoosierHawgs

[IndianaFinesse]

On the edge of west Indianapolis, right across the street from the white river.  They have some good deals on bass fishing stuff sometimes, but they specialize in catfish and carp bait and tackle, plus have the best selection of live bait that I have ever seen by far.  They carry every live bait that I can think of, easily 25-35 different options.

48 minutes ago, frosty said:

I've been to honey creek tackle, and I know where the store is in mooresville, but I've never heard of west side bait and tackle. Where is it located?

 

[The Bassman]

It's near westside Indy on White River Pkwy between Michigan and New York St.

[IndianaFinesse]

All of this rain has melted most of the main lake ice here, but the coves still have some ice left.  The ice is still to thick to plow through with the boat in the backs of coves, so I took the canoe out instead.   Water clarity's about 1.5-2 feet, and the water temperature is still hanging around 39 degrees.  Started out fishing for white bass, but it was impossible to stay put out in the middle of the lake in the wind with the canoe.  Switched over to crappie/bluegill (they seemed to be biting the same lures) and found them hugging bottom in 17-20 feet of water near some dying weeds.  The bites were so lite that I had to use an ice fishing rod with a "spring bobber" flat wire tip, instead of regular rods.  The most effective bait was a 1/100 ounce horizontal jig tipped with two or three spikes and an atomic wishbone plastic.  They wanted it held as steady as possible beneath the canoe, not an easy task in the wind.  Ended the day with 5 crappie, 15 nice bluegill, and one largemouth bass, in about three hours of fishing.  It was basically ice fishing in open water, except harder because of boat control, but it was nice to get out again.  Looks like it might have safe ice by the first part of next week if the weather forecast holds true.