By Louie Stout

Lake Wawasee apparently had a pretty good spawn a few years ago, according to an Indiana DNR fisheries survey there.

Biologist Tyler DeLauder said the May, 2022 survey turned up a lot of bass – in fact, a higher than normal collection for that time of year.

“Most of the fish were in the 13-inch size range but we saw quite a few 14 inchers as well,” said DeLauder. “Compared to a 2008 survey (the last time one was done on the lake), we saw a significant increase.”

The fish were surveyed with an electro-fishing boat that temporarily stuns fish in the shallows and brings them to the surface where they are netted, info gathered and released.

In addition to largemouth up to 20 inches, they also handled 17 smallmouth.

“Growth looked good, too,” the biologist added. “We didn’t get many big ones but those fish were likely deeper than our electric probes can penetrate. However, I suspect that quite a few of those fish we did get will be legal size this spring and summer.”

DeLauder said he hadn’t had a chance to analyze results gathered from information submitted by tournaments. Tournaments with 15 or more boats are required to report their catch.

“The data we get from tournaments is valuable because it gives us a different way to assess the adult population,” said DeLauder.