Trout Fishing in Indiana

[chefdg]

I was on the DNR website the other day and found their list of places where they stock trout throughout Indiana. I knew that the Brookville Tailwaters would be a possible place to go (a little more than 2 hours from Marion, where I live) and have been planning on trying it out but I wondered if there were any other spots you guys thought were worth trying.

It turns out they stock some trout within 2 counties from me so I thought I would give them a try. One of the places in particular was called Big Blue River, which may be a little closer than Brookville.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks

[cincyspey]

Brookville is a Gem. Fish there monthly. small black zebra midges are the go to. ants are also dynamite. caught a 23 1/2 inch brown this fall on a size 26 ant. it is only about 2 miles long but its all good.

[double d]

I believe the St. Joe's river in Northern Indiana has some great water for trout fishing.

[kwb]

Originally Posted by double d

I believe the St. Joe's river in Northern Indiana has some great water for trout fishing.

The Joe gets over 80 degrees in the Summer...

It hosts steelhead fishing in Fall, Winter and Spring "to an extent it has a Summer steelhead fishery if you don't mind fishing creek mouths, which is pretty lame."

It does not have a resident Trout fishery and for the most part, the small tribs that flow into it, which do have Trout flow through private land and are non-navigable so even if you stay in the water, you are trespassing.

[chefdg]

Originally Posted by cincyspey

Brookville is a Gem. Fish there monthly. small black zebra midges are the go to. ants are also dynamite. caught a 23 1/2 inch brown this fall on a size 26 ant. it is only about 2 miles long but its all good.

Awesome, thanks for the tips! I'd like to get out there the next chance I get in the next few weeks or so. However, I noticed that the DNR site said the season was closed until the last saturday in April. Does that mean I just can't keep them, or can't fish for trout period?

---------- Post added at 12:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 PM ----------

Originally Posted by kwb

The Joe gets over 80 degrees in the Summer...

It hosts steelhead fishing in Fall, Winter and Spring "to an extent it has a Summer steelhead fishery if you don't mind fishing creek mouths, which is pretty lame."

It does not have a resident Trout fishery and for the most part, the small tribs that flow into it, which do have Trout flow through private land and are non-navigable so even if you stay in the water, you are trespassing.

Hmm, that isn't too far to try for some steelhead this spring. Thanks!

[chicagojohn]

Save yourself from glorified ditch fishing in the NWI tributaries and drive a few more hours into Michigan or Wisconsin.

The St Joe has quality smallmouth and steelhead, but it is a very large river. Some of the parks in downtown south bend offer wadeable water. It is a hard river to master on a day trip without a guide. The Dowagiac is a smaller tributary of the St Joe just to the north in Niles, Michigan and could be easier to fish.

I'd recommend heading a little further north into Michigan if you want a well rounded steelhead and native trout experience. If small trout streams are more your speed, head to southwest Wisconsin or northeast Iowa.

Indiana has some hidden gem smallmouth streams. I've never fished brookville for trout. My time is better spent elsewhere if pursuing a fun day of trout fishing. Brookville is too far south for me. There are too many quality streams within the same drive time in Wisconsin and Michigan.

[jonc1]

Check out Oliver lake in northern Indiana, Lagrange county. Very deep lake that holds enough cold water to accommodate resident trout all year long and there are many in there. You won't be wading but you can get on the trout.

Jonc

[double d]

Originally Posted by kwb

The Joe gets over 80 degrees in the Summer...

It hosts steelhead fishing in Fall, Winter and Spring "to an extent it has a Summer steelhead fishery if you don't mind fishing creek mouths, which is pretty lame."

It does not have a resident Trout fishery and for the most part, the small tribs that flow into it, which do have Trout flow through private land and are non-navigable so even if you stay in the water, you are trespassing.

Thanks KWB, I stand corrected! I was at a fishing expo in January (Schaumburg, Il.) and one of the speakers did a talk on the Joe in Indiana, but he was discussing of course steelhead and other species of fish. Thanks for the information, it also seems that the Joe is not wadeable friendly as well. big river, big fish!

[mysticm]

I have fished Brookville for > 3yrs now and frankly I would suggest picking some other locations IF you have to drive >1 hr to get there. If it was a shorter drive, I would have said to give it a shot. Like the other poster said...its a pretty short stream and gets pretty crowded. Folks have caught large browns there but thats not the norm.
Still, if you want to make a week-end of it...perhaps you can visit Indianapolis - fish the white river near there for small mouth (excellent stream) and do Brookville.

[chefdg]

Thanks for all of the tips everyone. There are some other stretches of river where trout are stocked closer to me that I may try before Brookville.

I'm not to far from decent access to the White River also. I am definitely looking forward to going after some smallmouth. I have a few holes on the Mississinewa River that I am really itching to get back to.