By Louie Stout
Bill LaVigne holds up a 21-inch walleye he caught from Hurshtown Reservoir.
Bill LaVigne holds up a 21-inch walleye he caught from Hurshtown Reservoir.
If you like catching good numbers of smallmouth and walleye, Hurshtown Reservoir could be the place to go.
The clear, 260-acre impoundment near Grabil, Ind. lies about six miles northeast of Fort Wayne. It’s managed by the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation department and serves as an emergency water supply for Ft. Wayne.
The lake has special regulations worth noting. Boat power is limited to electric motors although you can use a boat that has an outboard; you just can run it. The gates don’t open until 7:30 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. There is a $4 launch fee and the lake is only open to anglers from May into October.
Also, no launching is allowed when the wind is blowing 15 mph or more, and yes, the lake is susceptible to wind. It would be wise to call the office (260-627-3390) before making the drive.
Despite the special rules, Fort Wayne angler Bill LaVigne can’t say enough good things about the fishery. He targets walleyes but catches smallmouth as well.
“My buddy Gary LaRue and I made seven trips there this year and we’ve caught 36 smallmouth and 83 walleyes,” he said. “Most of those walleyes were 2 year olds but we had eight over 16 inches and two that were 20 inches. The lake had a heckuva walleye spawn a couple of years ago.”
The bass fishing may be even better.
Gary LaRue shows an 18-inch smallmouth he caught at Hurshtown Reservoir.
Gary LaRue shows an 18-inch smallmouth he caught at Hurshtown Reservoir.
“It’s one of the best smallmouth bass fishing spots in Indiana,” said retired DNR biologist Jed Pearson. “I don’t think we’ve made a smallmouth stocking anywhere in the state that comes close to Hurshtown’s success.”
The DNR stocked it with 52,000 smallmouth fingerlings 30 years ago to help control the abundant, small green sunfish in the lake. The smallmouth population took off and the green sunfish numbers are dropping.
The walleyes (13,500 3-inchers) were stocked in the late 1990s by the parks department, and remarkably, they took hold as well.
“Most of the walleyes in the lake today are from natural reproduction,” said Pearson. “We don’t see that kind of reproduction anywhere else in the state.”
During a fish survey last year, smallmouth ranked No. 1 among all species in the lake. In fact, during 30 minutes of electro-shocking, the DNR turned up 107 smallmouth.
The downside is most of those fish were less than 14 inches, but Pearson said the big ones are in there, but roam out of reach of his shallow water shocking equipment.
“We get a lot of reports from anglers who say they catch big smallmouth in deeper water,” he said.
LaVigne says the lake also has a healthy crappie population and some bluegill, although the latter don’t seem to be as abundant.
Hurshtown is lined with riprap down to about 10-foot depths, which makes great bass and walleye habitat. It’s where most of the fishing occurs, but a boat with good electronics may find the bigger fish offshore.
LaVigne catches most of his walleyes by trolling spinner rigs with sinkers or bottom bouncers.
You can rent row boats and kayaks there as well as use the DNR-installed boat ramp.
For more information, visit www.fortwayneparks.org, click on “Facilities” and Hurshtown Reservoir in the drop-down box.