Casting Call

It’s picture-perfect

by John C. Gill

Shutterstock.com

As spring evolves, anglers gaze across open waters. Amidst the reawakened outdoors, they envision opportunities about to surface.

Kosciusko’s 100 lakes and varied species make the county a haven for those seeking access to recreational fishing. Diverse lake environments, from sleepy to bustling, intersperse the area, and anglers enjoy ease of travel between them. They fish from shorelines and piers, and launch boats from public ramps, including handicap accessible sites at multiple lakes. Whatever the

route, quality fishing is the destination.

According to Tyler Delauder, Fisheries Biologist with Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), abundant bluegill, largemouth bass, crappie, and yellow perch—all naturally reproducing species—populate the glacial lakes countywide and elicit interest among anglers. Furthermore, and bolstering the enthusiasm, the DNR stocks trout in Wyland Lake within Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area; walleye in Winona Lake and Pike Lake; and muskies in Webster Lake, the Barbee Chain, and the Tippecanoe (Tippy) Chain.

“We’re hearing good things from anglers,” Delauder reported, adding, “Tippy is known as the chain that has larger fish in it.” But hooking them entails more than mere bait and tackle. Studying lake contours, depth, and weed cover facilitates success. Both the DNR and Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams offer excellent resources, including lake directories, interactive maps, and fishing reports online at in.gov/dnr and lakes.grace.edu. His findings have led Syracuse fisherman Dennis Wright to the wide and flat spots where panfish dwell in weedy, shallow water, and the deeper areas preferred by perch. On the inside turns of lakes, he pursues bass, and on the outside turns, pike. An ultralight rod and open face spinning reel combo, with flies or grubs as bait, will hook panfish. But bass anglers choose medium action rods with spinning reels, or baitcasters. Among the endless assortment of bass lures, jigs and crankbaits, and topwater frogs for lily pads, prove effective.

Wright favors smaller lakes like Waubee and Chapman where light boat traffic ensures a peaceful atmosphere. Further, the lakes at Tri-County, surrounded by

woods and open only to electric motors, are idyllic.

But action reigns where mighty muskies roam. “There’s definitely an adrenaline rush to catching a muskie, especially at topwater. It’s exciting,” said Chae Dolsen, owner of Webster Lake Guide Service, a catch and release enterprise. “The appeal is that you can’t catch one on every lake.”

Indeed, fishing enthusiasts from across the country travel to Kosciusko County to hook muskies, which grow to lengths between 40 and 50 inches. The DNR began stocking the fish aggressively in 1979, and the population has dipped since its peak in 2006. But Delauder hopes to increase those numbers by continuing to stock at a density of four per acre annually in Webster Lake and the Barbee Chain, and one per acre in the Tippy Chain.

Muskies prefer shallow water and dropoffs where aquatic vegetation grows, but nothing too choky and thick. Baitcasters on eight- to nine-foot rods, with 80-pound braided Spectra line, will reel them in.

Dolsen recommends searching for a used rod and reel, and used lures, which sometimes cost $60 apiece new. “Use

“There’s definitely an adrenaline rush to catching a muskie, especially at topwater. It’s exciting.”

a guide to help you make educated purchases, to show you how to rig suckers, and how to manipulate or tune a lure,” he advised. “A guide will help you do more than catch fish.”

Hooking muskies, he explained, requires confidence, something anglers will welcome when bracing their trophy catches on deck for the obligatory photo opportunity.

Picture-perfect best describes the fishing scene in Kosciusko County. “One thing I take away from it each day is just how beautiful it is outside,” Dolsen said. “We see eagles, ospreys, pelicans, swans, herons, sandhill cranes, even deer swimming. It’s just awesome to be out on these lakes.”