Biologists’ Surveys Reveal What’s Hot On Area Lakes

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Published: 28 October 2013

By Louie Stout

DNR Naturalist Aide Casey Jones holds a pair of big Worster Lake bass captured during a spring survey.You might want to include these northern Indiana lakes in your fishing trips next season:

• Bass Lake for walleyes and panfish.
• Lake Maxinkuckee for bass, perch, bluegills and walleyes.
• Lake of the Woods for bass and white bass.
• Worster Lake (Potato Creek State Park) for bass and hybrid stripers.

Those recommendations are based upon some observations made by Indiana DNR biologist Tom Bacula, who spent October researching young walleye populations on those lakes.

Each fall, biologists go into lakes that have been stocked with walleyes to assess how the young fish are doing.

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River Smallies Doing Well

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Published: 21 October 2013

DNR Naturalist Guide Nathan Herman shows off a couple of nice smallmouth captured during a research project.The St. Joseph River smallmouth bass population is alive and well.

That’s the report from Indiana fisheries biologists who spent six days this month on the river from Bristol, Ind. to the Michigan state line while studying the bass population, tagging fish and collecting data.

Their work well help them monitor Indiana’s new slot size limit in which fish measuring 12 to 15 inches are protected. Under the recent law change, anglers may keep five bass, but only two can be over 15 inches.

The research team handled more than 1,000 bass, including some largemouth, during the study. Of those fish, 150 were tagged with metal tags on the fishes’ upper lips. Anglers who catch tagged fish are encouraged to gently remove the tag and contact the DNR with information about the number on it, size of the fish and where it was caught. Bass Pro Shops gift cards will be awarded to several who report them.

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