Central Indiana ?
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Fishing Central Indiana
I used to fish Summit almost exclusively, mostly because I live in Anderson and could get there in a half hour. I noticed about three years ago that the catch was down terribly over there. The slab crappie were hard to find, as were the perch. Bass seem to be everywhere. Anyway, I gave up on the lake and started going to Brookville, Monroe and Cataract. Man, those lakes have some fish! Last season I got five fish (three were stripers) that measured over 30 inches. In fact, once I gave up on Summit I really started catching fish. It's hard to endure all those speeding boats, large wakes and drunk drivers, but it is worth it for the pleasure of catching decent fish. I'm thinking Summit is fished out and overfished.
Keep Your Tip Top Up,
Slowretrieve
I used to fish Summit almost exclusively, mostly because I live in Anderson and could get there in a half hour. I noticed about three years ago that the catch was down terribly over there. The slab crappie were hard to find, as were the perch. Bass seem to be everywhere. Anyway, I gave up on the lake and started going to Brookville, Monroe and Cataract. Man, those lakes have some fish! Last season I got five fish (three were stripers) that measured over 30 inches. In fact, once I gave up on Summit I really started catching fish. It's hard to endure all those speeding boats, large wakes and drunk drivers, but it is worth it for the pleasure of catching decent fish. I'm thinking Summit is fished out and overfished.
Keep Your Tip Top Up,
Slowretrieve
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78 Posts
I don't think that at all. The larger crappie are harder to find during the day light, and the perch have a pattern of 2 good years then one very slow year. Since the walleye stocking of 2000, I personally have found that I had to start fishing Summit different from the past years.Slowretrieve said:
I still have a hard time locating the larger crappie most of the time but, more often than not, a guy can catch 15 to 50, 8+" bluegills. I also catch most of my perch deep in the weeds around the 10' depth. Last year the perch were slow for me but, I'm lookin' for a bumper crop this summer. The best perch bite for me is from the start of sunrise until around 8:00 or 9:00 am.
I have caught several walleye from 16" to 20" at Summit.
Have you ever fished Prairie Creek ? if not you should consider trying. The gills are HUGE 1+ lbs and its got some very nice walleye too. Its not uncommon to catch a 5+lb walleye after you learn the contoure of the lake.
Prairie Creek also offers lots of crappie but, unlike Summit lake, the small and large crappie school together. The only complaint I have about Prairie Creek fish would be the numbers of white bass. Once a school of white bass ( 1 to 3lbs) move in, its best to pull anchor and head towards the next honey hole. Or else you might end up catching 20 to 50 of them nasty critters.
I have fished prairie creek for the past 43 years. If you need more info feel free to contact me.
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Prairie Creek
Years ago I fished PC regularly, then I discovered Summit. Used to do well on PC, especially for cats (I didn't really want those but always seeded to catch them) and crappie and walleye. Haven't been back there in years and, you're right, it may just be time to revisit it. I don't remember ever seening a white bass on PC. White bass are what I love about Brookville. Sometimes they come to the surface several acres at a time and it is nothing to catch a lot of them in a short time. I usually take them in the shallows about sunset. They hit hard, then disappear. If you wait around about ten minutes, the striper usually come in right after them. I use a curly-tailed white grub on a white jighead for the white bass and a silver Shad Rap on the stripers.
Used to be when the water was up at Summit I could go into the bay to the north of the big launch ramp and pull out slab after slab of crappie. I just haven't had that experience for years. I know the gills over there are fantastic, but I don't fish gills, so that leaves me out there. Don't fish LMBs either, but I do love to fish those big walleyes, stripers and sandies. You ever fish wipers on Monroe? By the by, these little moving critters to the right bother me when I am trying to write. Not a lot though. It's a wonderful site, easy to use and well thought out.
Years ago I fished PC regularly, then I discovered Summit. Used to do well on PC, especially for cats (I didn't really want those but always seeded to catch them) and crappie and walleye. Haven't been back there in years and, you're right, it may just be time to revisit it. I don't remember ever seening a white bass on PC. White bass are what I love about Brookville. Sometimes they come to the surface several acres at a time and it is nothing to catch a lot of them in a short time. I usually take them in the shallows about sunset. They hit hard, then disappear. If you wait around about ten minutes, the striper usually come in right after them. I use a curly-tailed white grub on a white jighead for the white bass and a silver Shad Rap on the stripers.
Used to be when the water was up at Summit I could go into the bay to the north of the big launch ramp and pull out slab after slab of crappie. I just haven't had that experience for years. I know the gills over there are fantastic, but I don't fish gills, so that leaves me out there. Don't fish LMBs either, but I do love to fish those big walleyes, stripers and sandies. You ever fish wipers on Monroe? By the by, these little moving critters to the right bother me when I am trying to write. Not a lot though. It's a wonderful site, easy to use and well thought out.
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46 Posts
Summit sees a LOT of angler pressure. I fish it quite a bit, especially from Ice out until early spawn. I then usually switch to the great lakes by then (I live in Michigan, but grew up in Alexandria. My family still lives down there, so I go down there a lot early in the season when everything up here is closed).
The lake does have a large bass population, but apparently not large enough to control panfish population, the state also stocked walleye in there a few years back. I think the slab panfish are there, but with the decay of the woody structure in the shallows and the yo-yo of the water levels in recent years, I think they are adapting to more open water weed lines and dropoffs. I've caught some HUGE panfish while bass fishing open water down towards the dam. I'm primarily a Walleye and bass fisherman, so I usually catch panfish incidently, but my dad goes over there a lot and does catch some nice bluegill on deep edges of weeds.
The lake does have a large bass population, but apparently not large enough to control panfish population, the state also stocked walleye in there a few years back. I think the slab panfish are there, but with the decay of the woody structure in the shallows and the yo-yo of the water levels in recent years, I think they are adapting to more open water weed lines and dropoffs. I've caught some HUGE panfish while bass fishing open water down towards the dam. I'm primarily a Walleye and bass fisherman, so I usually catch panfish incidently, but my dad goes over there a lot and does catch some nice bluegill on deep edges of weeds.
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Also there is a little lake off of Carthage road just south of Knightstown called Woods Lake (not Westwood by New Castle). I've caught a few nice panfish there while fishing for bass in early season. Recently, it seems to have become infested with shad, so it may not be as good as it once used to be. There is another lake just east of Knightstown right off of 40 that I've never been on, but I've heard it also has some nice fish. Both have primitive dirt ramps, but are passable.
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The Knightstown Lake
My son fished that lake in Knightstown several years back and brought home some nice crappie, but I haven't heard or seen anything about it in a long while. I know the lake you are talking about just off of Highway 40; sits off to the left of the road in the trees as you're headed east. I don't know of anyone who fishes it. In '02 I switched my 25 hp 15 foot jon for a 75 hp 18.6" modified V so I could focus on some bigger waters and haven't had much chance to get to the smaller bodies. Kind of miss that less harried kind of fishing. But I sure enjoy the variety and challenge of fishing Brookville. It is rare that I come home without fond memories of fine fish that fell for my foolish offerings. Last year for the first time in the 22+ years I have been fishing Indiana I started targeting carp, using a Yozuri silver Pin's Minnow. Managed to catch 14 or 15 over the course of the year. One day I was putting in at Garr Hill and a guy was putting in next to me. He had a boat without a motor and a fly pole. I asked him what he was fishing for and he said carp. Said he'd been there the day before flyfishing for carp and caught 30 of them. I didn't mention it had taken me a whole season to add 14 carp to my fish book. This year I hope to target big walleye. I have the walleye thing down, but mostly I catch small ones, so I am hoping to improve on that this year. See you on the water one day soon. Take Care.
My son fished that lake in Knightstown several years back and brought home some nice crappie, but I haven't heard or seen anything about it in a long while. I know the lake you are talking about just off of Highway 40; sits off to the left of the road in the trees as you're headed east. I don't know of anyone who fishes it. In '02 I switched my 25 hp 15 foot jon for a 75 hp 18.6" modified V so I could focus on some bigger waters and haven't had much chance to get to the smaller bodies. Kind of miss that less harried kind of fishing. But I sure enjoy the variety and challenge of fishing Brookville. It is rare that I come home without fond memories of fine fish that fell for my foolish offerings. Last year for the first time in the 22+ years I have been fishing Indiana I started targeting carp, using a Yozuri silver Pin's Minnow. Managed to catch 14 or 15 over the course of the year. One day I was putting in at Garr Hill and a guy was putting in next to me. He had a boat without a motor and a fly pole. I asked him what he was fishing for and he said carp. Said he'd been there the day before flyfishing for carp and caught 30 of them. I didn't mention it had taken me a whole season to add 14 carp to my fish book. This year I hope to target big walleye. I have the walleye thing down, but mostly I catch small ones, so I am hoping to improve on that this year. See you on the water one day soon. Take Care.
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Sorry I didn't reply right away. Here in Muncie, IN we had some power problems because of the ice storm.
The big numbers of white bass in prairie creek started around 1996. The ones I catch at PC are on average are larger than the Brookville white bass. The do bust the surface the same but, they take a minnow much faster than a crankbait. The catfish population at PC has been down for the past few years. But, the walleye population is up.
I don't bass fish but, have caught a couple nice smallmouth at PC in the past 2 years. One of the local Smallmouth clubs have been releasing their catch at PC for the past couple years. They have been quite well.
I don't fish monroe much. Its further than brookville so, If I wanna hit big water I hit brookville.
My fishin' bud I met on my fishing site, took me up to lake Erie several times. Now that lake is one walleye factory. After catching Erie walleyes, it sure made our local walleye waters seem like a waste of time. Westwood run lake west of New Castle has some nice fishing IF, you can get past the 3" gills.
The big numbers of white bass in prairie creek started around 1996. The ones I catch at PC are on average are larger than the Brookville white bass. The do bust the surface the same but, they take a minnow much faster than a crankbait. The catfish population at PC has been down for the past few years. But, the walleye population is up.
I don't bass fish but, have caught a couple nice smallmouth at PC in the past 2 years. One of the local Smallmouth clubs have been releasing their catch at PC for the past couple years. They have been quite well.
I don't fish monroe much. Its further than brookville so, If I wanna hit big water I hit brookville.
My fishin' bud I met on my fishing site, took me up to lake Erie several times. Now that lake is one walleye factory. After catching Erie walleyes, it sure made our local walleye waters seem like a waste of time. Westwood run lake west of New Castle has some nice fishing IF, you can get past the 3" gills.
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Power Outage Blues
I know the feeling. I live in Anderson and was out of juice for three days. I think, this time, you guys over Muncie way actually got it worse than we did in Anderson. It was the reverse that last ice storm in 89 or 90--can't remember which. That time we were without electricity for 15 days.
I went walking at Summit on Sunday. Almost no ice on the lake, and surprise suprise, no boats either. If they don't let all the water out the lake will be full this year and it may just be an excellent crappie fishing. The water is way over the usual boundries.
I'll have to give PC another try this year. Haven't been there in years and there were no white bass when I was there. I love the size and fight of the things at Brookville, so I'm sure they will be as pleasing at PC.
I know what you mean about the big fisheries. I used to take my family to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and some years the blues would be running through the area. After a week of fishing blues it is difficult to get real excited about our local fishery, and since I rarely if ever fish for bass, it usually means my choices of lakes are somewhat limited.
Take Care. Hope your electricity holds. I'm thinking all of this winter stuff means we may just have an early spring this year. Maybe it'll warm up by early March. Here's hoping.
I know the feeling. I live in Anderson and was out of juice for three days. I think, this time, you guys over Muncie way actually got it worse than we did in Anderson. It was the reverse that last ice storm in 89 or 90--can't remember which. That time we were without electricity for 15 days.
I went walking at Summit on Sunday. Almost no ice on the lake, and surprise suprise, no boats either. If they don't let all the water out the lake will be full this year and it may just be an excellent crappie fishing. The water is way over the usual boundries.
I'll have to give PC another try this year. Haven't been there in years and there were no white bass when I was there. I love the size and fight of the things at Brookville, so I'm sure they will be as pleasing at PC.
I know what you mean about the big fisheries. I used to take my family to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and some years the blues would be running through the area. After a week of fishing blues it is difficult to get real excited about our local fishery, and since I rarely if ever fish for bass, it usually means my choices of lakes are somewhat limited.
Take Care. Hope your electricity holds. I'm thinking all of this winter stuff means we may just have an early spring this year. Maybe it'll warm up by early March. Here's hoping.
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Prairie Creek Reservoir
Saw a couple boats on the water yesterday. I also saw 2 boats out on summit lake, while I was there purchasing my annual park pass and annual ramp permit. Thinkin' bout hitting both waters this week, if the wind isn't blowing to hard.
Saw a couple boats on the water yesterday. I also saw 2 boats out on summit lake, while I was there purchasing my annual park pass and annual ramp permit. Thinkin' bout hitting both waters this week, if the wind isn't blowing to hard.
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