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IDNR Report
Indiana’s migratory bird hunting seasons for 2024-25 have been submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The hunting seasons include those for mourning dove, waterfowl (i.e., ducks, coots, mergansers, and geese), woodcock, snipe, and sora rails.
| Species | Area | Segment 1 | Segment 2 | Segment 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mourning Dove | Statewide | Nov. 1 - Dec. 1 | Dec. 21 - 29 | |
| Woodcock | Statewide | |||
| Snipe | Statewide | |||
| Sora Rail | Statewide | |||
| Early Teal | Statewide | |||
| Ducks, coots, and mergansers | North Zone | Oct. 19 - Dec. 8 | Dec. 28 - Jan. 5 | |
| Central Zone | Nov. 2 - 10 | Nov. 23 - Jan. 12 | ||
| South Zone | Nov. 9 - 10 | Nov. 30 - Jan. 26 | ||
| Canada geese, light geese, and Brant geese | North Zone | Sept. 1 - 15 | Oct. 19 - 27 | Nov. 23 - Feb. 9 |
| Central Zone | Sept. 1 - 15 | Nov. 2 - 10 | Nov. 23 - Feb. 9 | |
| South Zone | Sept. 1 - 15 | Nov. 9 - 10 | Nov. 23 - Feb. 15 | |
| White-fronted Geese | North Zone | Oct. 19-27 | Nov. 23 - Feb. 9 | |
| Central Zone | Nov. 2 - 10 | Nov. 23 - Feb. 9 | ||
| South Zone | Nov. 9 - 10 | Nov. 23 - Feb. 15 | ||
| Youth and Veteran only hunting days | North Zone | Oct. 12 - 13 | ||
| Central Zone | Oct. 26 - 27 | |||
| South Zone | Nov. 2 - 3 |
New this year, the white-fronted goose season and bag limit are separate from those for other geese. The white-fronted goose season is closed during September’s Canada goose season but opens at the same time as the other geese seasons later in the year. The daily bag limit is two white-fronted geese.
The Canada goose daily bag limit is five, which may include brant geese in aggregate, in any combination. The daily bag limit for light geese (snow and Ross’s geese) remains 20.
There are no changes in duck bag limits from 2023-24. This includes the scaup daily bag limit, which is one during the first 15 days of the duck season, and two for the rest of the eason.
The possession limit for all migratory birds is three times the daily bag limit, except for light geese, for which there is no possession limit.
Find more information about the migratory gamebird hunting seasons and regulations at on.IN.gov/gamebird-seasons.
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By Louie Stout
Lake of the Woods Bluegill
A recent survey of Lake of the Woods (Bremen, Ind.) produced some surprising results for Hoosier anglers.
Oddly enough, walleyes were a small part of what DNR Research Biologist Tom Bacula discovered on the 416-acre lake. It’s located southwest of Bremen in Marshall County.
“We caught more black crappie than we expected and a ridiculous amount of bluegill,” he said. “On a lake like this, I would expect about 200 crappies. We measured 780 and saw a lot more.”
The crappies averaged a little over 10 inches and most were 9 to 12 inches long.
Those fish were captured in nets the DNR team set in 4-6 feet of water in mid-April. The plan was to capture walleyes that moved up to attempt to spawn and access the population.
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By Louie Stout
Assistant District Biologist Avery Feldmeier
Northwest Indiana’s fish management team is growing with the addition of two new district biologists.
District 1, previously led by Tom Bacula who has been promoted to District Research Biologist, now includes District Biologist Courtney Weldon, who will join the team in the coming days, and Assistant District Biologist Avery Feldmeier, pictured here, who began working the district April 1.
Feldmeier is a 2022 graduate of Lake Superior College with a degree in fisheries and wildlife management. He has since worked in Ohio as a Lake Erie Research Biologist and in Florida where he did ecological research on sea turtles.
The 23-year-old Hudsonville, Mich. native, who lives in LaPorte, Ind., is an avid waterfowl and deer hunter as well as bass and walleye angler.
“I grew up fishing the lakes around my Michigan home so I’m familiar with natural likes like we have here,” he said.
His role will be to help with lake surveys, data entry and oversee summer help. Bacula said Feldmeier will handle communication between the DNR and angler clubs and fishing community in the district.
He already has assisted in the muskie brood stock collection at Webster Lake and a spring survey on Lake of the Woods.
He also will be assessing fish at the Indiana Federation bass tournament weigh-in at Pine and Stone Lakes this weekend.
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IDNR Report
Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a drowning that occurred yesterday in Indiana’s Little Turkey Lake located in southwestern Steuben County.
At 4:14 p.m., Steuben County Communications received a 911 call advising that a fisherman was in distress in the water.
Upon arrival, responders learned that Thomas Frazie, 76, of Waterloo, was fishing in a boat when, for unknown reasons, he fell in. His fishing partner got the unconscious angler back in the boat; however, lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful, and Frazie was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy was performed today at the Northeast Indiana Forensics Center in Fort Wayne, and the preliminary cause of death was ruled an accidental drowning.
Conservation officers were assisted at the scene by the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department, Ashley Police Department, Indiana State Police, Ashley Fire Department, Steuben County Emergency Medical Services, and Parkview Samaritan Transport.
Conservation officers remind the public to always wear a life jacket when on or near any body of water.
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Skeet Reese Report
IDNR Report
Interested anglers and members of the public are invited to an open meeting April 25 in Columbia City to learn and ask questions about a largemouth bass management project planned for Tri-Lakes.
The chain of lakes is located north of Columbia City and consists of Round, Cedar and Little Cedar.
The multi-year project aims to increase the number of sizable largemouth bass in Tri-Lakes through a series of largemouth bass relocations. The system has an abundance of slow-growing bass between 8-13.5 inches and the plan calls to remove some them to another lake. Biologists believe the project will allow those bass remaining in Tri-Lakes to grow faster with less competition and create more of a balance in the fishery.
The meeting will be held at the Thorncreek Township Fire Department, 821 E 500 N. From 7-8:30 p.m. ET, DNR fisheries biologists will introduce the project, explain its goals, share data and anticipated results, and then answer questions.
“Local anglers have wanted us to improve the size of largemouth bass at Tri-Lakes for several years,” said Tyler Delauder, the district’s fisheries biologist. “We hope this project will allow us to do that.”
To learn more about the project, see wildlife.IN.gov/fishing/largemouth-bass. To learn more about the open meeting, see events.IN.gov/event/tri-lakes-open-meeting.
If you can’t attend the meeting and would like additional information, email D3Fish@dnr.IN.gov.