By Louie Stout

Best Bet for Quality Bass? Try Bruce Lake

If you're looking for a diamond-in-the-rough bass lake, put Bruce Lake on your radar.

The 245-acre lake on the Pulaski/Fulton County line, seven miles southeast of Winamac, Ind., yielded a good population of quality bass during a DNR survey there last year.

"We turned up 30 bass over 18 inches in four hours of electroshocking," said Indiana District Fisheries Biologist Tom Bacula. "The biggest we saw was a female that was 6 pounds plus. There are some real studs in there."

The survey was conducted at the end of April last year.

"We were there because local residents complained that there were no bass in the lake," Bacula said. "Years ago it had a lot of 8- to 10-inch bass but residents complained they weren't catching them. We found that there are fewer of the small bass but the quality we found is excellent. If someone asked me where to go to catch a big bass, I'd say Bruce."

Bruce usually has a stain to its water clarity lake and the vegetation only grows down to about 8 feet. You can catch bass deeper, but the fact the lake typically isn't clear and weed growth only goes to 8 feet, you shouldn't have to fish deep for them. The lake's maximum depth is 34 feet.

Bacula said the fish are growing at normal rates, reaching legal size (14 inches) at age 5 and 6, typical for Indiana natural lakes.

It offers a good access on the west side of the lake but has limited parking. It also has a 10 mph speed limit.

The lake has a good muskie population, too. Bacula said they shocked up muskies measuring 36, 38 and 47 inches while scouring the shallows for bass.

It's also an excellent panfish lake. Most anglers fish Bruce for bluegills and crappies and Bacula said anglers could expect to catch nice crappies 10 inches or bigger this summer.

"We weren't shocking for panfish, but we saw a strong year class and nice crappies and bluegills in the lake," he said.