How long it will last is anybody’s guess--including highly touted meteorologists of TV fame. But, if Indiana weather follows the form sheet of Hoosier winters, first ice suitable for fishing will skid into northern-tier counties (roughly the northern third of the state) about the time Santa arrives.

Learned icers smile and murmur: “deja vu!”

A look at first-ice journals of the past two winters, the last decade, or probably even winters of the Neolithic Age, graphically tell the unchanging story. Indiana is a Midwestern state and the ice gods bide their time in bringing us hard water for fishing. Hoosier hard-water anglers have come to expect it.

For example, consider last winter’s ice-up calendar. As reported by Larry Stover, owner/operator of The Tackle Box at North Webster (the heart of Kosciusko County’s natural lake region) brave souls started fishing the channels of larger lakes on the Sunday before Christmas (Dec. 19 to be exact).

Soon thereafter an Alberta Clipper hit Northern Indiana. The inch of ice that opened the fishing crept out to open-water areas (the deeper water) of larger lakes in what appeared to be the beginning of winter-long hard-water angling. But it wasn’t to be.

To get a better view of what happened weatherwise, on Dec. 20 at Angola (the far northeast corner of the state) recorded high/low temperatures of 11, -2 degrees. High/lows through the remainder of December were: Dec. 21, 27/5; Dec. 22, 41/18; Decl 23, 20/14; Dec. 24, 19/0; Dec. 25, 9/11; Dec. 26, 13/0; 27, 22/-6; Dec. 28, 19/-6; Dec. 29, 37/19; Dec. 30, 42/29, and Dec. 31, 51/32. Needless to say, the warm-up botched the ice fishing.

Stover says that while anglers fished channels of the larger lakes through the holidays, ice was not really safe. The warming trend of the last days of December ran into January and halted hard-water angling until after mid-January.

However, Stover says another blitz of winter hit the northern tier counties with lows of minus 12, 11, respectively, on Jan. 18, 19 and that set the stage for safe-ice conditions until another period of plus-40 high temperatures hit on March 19 (50 degrees).

Stover says the extension far into March may appear to have been a long ice-fishing period, but he adds that the late (mid-January) arrival of safe ice negates that thinking. In most winters, Stover says, the entire month of January offers safe ice even on the big lakes, but that it doesn’t usually extend into March.

Still, with Indiana weather being influenced by at least four weather zones, and prevailing southwest winds, ice-anglers must live by the old Indiana saw: “If you don’t like our weather, just wait a minute.” Ice fishing is a play-by-ear deal in Hoosierland, and the northern-tier counties always seem to get the high cards.

Still, the dealer usually doles out some old-fashioned winter weather to central and southern parts of the state before the sun heads north, and this often offers some safe-ice periods, especially on smaller lakes, farm ponds, and other small standing waters. The larger waters of central and southern parts of the state seldom offer safe ice. Shucks, central and southern parts of the state in real-winter blasts even get some ice on rivers and streams where the water is moving.

Generally, though, ice fishing in Indiana centers on the four Division of Fish and Wildlife management districts that make up roughly the northern third of the state. Districts 2 and 3 are the heart of Indiana’s natural (glacial) lake county. However natural lakes occur--though less prominent--in other parts of the state. 

District 1 is comprised of 16 counties of the extreme northwestern corner of the state. Roughly, it is four counties wide and deep.

District 2 is made up of the three counties that border Michigan in the northeastern corner of the state. County-by-county, District two probably has more natural lake water than any of the others. Counties are Elkhart, LaGrange, and Steuben.

District 3 lies directly below Distict 2 and is comprised of Allen, Dekalb, and Noble counties and the northern third of Kosciusko County.

District 4, five counties wide and four counties deep, is comprised of 14 counties immediately south of Distict 3. It includes the southern two-thirds of Kosciusko County.

District 5 is comprised of 20 counties of a wide swath that stretches from the border of Ohio to that of Illinois. It is immediately south of district 1 and District 4. Thus, it offers some ice fishing in times of extreme cold. 

To learn more about the ice-fishing potential of the various fish management districts this year we went to Jeremy Price, assistant fisheries biologist of District 1; Neil Ledet, fisheries biologist for District 2; Jed Pearson, fisheries biologist for District 3; Ed Braun, fisheries biologist for District 4, and Rhett Wisener, fisheries biologist for District 5.

Having studied the standing waters of District 1 for many years with district biologist Bob Robertson, and knowing that they have consistently found the so-called Plymouth Lakes high among standing waters of their district in angling opportunity for numerous species, Price waves the wand of excellence over this chain.

He says this chain, situated about five miles south and slightly west of Plymouth in Marshall County, is made up of four, five or six lakes, depending upon how one views the terrain. Totally, the lakes offer slightly more than 400 acres of ice for hard-water anglers. 

This chain of natural lakes is situated west of U.S. 31 and east of Indiana Highway 17. It is an east-west chain, starting with Lawrence Lake (69 acres) and running westward through Myers Lake (96 acres); Cook Lake (84 acres); and Mill Pond, (168 acres, including Kreigbaum Lake). A fifth lake, Holem, is considered part of Myers, somewhat like Mill Pond and Kreigbaum are thought of as one lake by some, and as individual lakes by others.

Price says bluegill are by far the dominant species of the Plymouth Lakes, noting that ‘gills of 8-9 inches are taken consistently by both open-water and ice anglers.

However, Price adds that redear sunfish are the second best species of the chain, and that 10-inchers are fairly common. Studies of the chain indicate crappies and yellow (ring) perch are about the same in numbers as third/fourth most-numerous species. Largemouth bass and northern pike are next in that order. Bass have run small in recent creel surveys, but Price believes the lakes may host good numbers of legal-size bass (14 inches) now.

Price points out that among ice anglers Lawrence and Myers probably are the most popular lakes of the chain, but he thinks any of the lakes that are connected by culverts or inlet/outlets could produce good fishing for any of the species of the chain.

Public access sites with parking lots will be found at east and west ends of the chain. The site on Lawrence Lake may be accessed from Oliver Road, about 2.5 miles south of Plymouth, and the site on Mill Pond is on County Road 12, about one-fourth mile east of Indiana Highway 17.

 Crooked Lake, 800-plus acres some five miles northwest of Angola, gets Ledet’s nod as one of the best--if not the best--lakes of District 2 for ice fishing.

Crooked Lake offers three basins, and good populations of walleye and bluegill. Both species have a good number of followers among hard-water anglers.

First (east) Basin, largest of the three, offers public access at a county park situated on the east shore of the lake. Maximum depth is about 30 feet.

Second Basin is separated from First Basin by a peninsula (Comfort Point) extending south from the north shore of the main body of the lake. Second Basin offers the deepest water of the lake at about 80 feet.

Although First and Second basins are roundish in form and deep, Third Basin is long (roughly one mile long), narrow, and rather shallow--about nine feet deep.

Ledet says studies of Crooked Lake in recent years have revealed walleye up to 20 inches, but adds that the lake hosts a lot of walleye in the 15-16-inch class.

Ledet says historically First and Second basins have been best for walleyes, but recent studies show good numbers of walleye, and good catch rates of this species, in Third Basin.

 “There is no particular best spot for walleyes,” Ledet says, “They are scattered throughout the lake.”

Crooked Lake offers good populations of largemouth bass and bluegills, but Ledet says the bulk of the ‘gills are about 7-to-8 inches. He adds that most ice fishermen do not fish for bass at Crooked Lake.

Conventional ice-fishing gear and baits are best for the bluegills, Ledet says, adding that while some anglers use tip-ups with minnows for walleye, most anglers use jigging spoons or the Rapala jigging lure of middle size. Some dress hooks of the jigging spoons with very small minnows.

Ledet says Crooked Lake also has yellow (ring) perch in good numbers, but adds that they are small.

Anglers looking for larger bluegills and redear sunfish will find them at Silver Lake, 238 acres, four miles west of Angola off U.S. 20, ledet says.

The Department of Natural Resources has property at the northeast corner of the lake, but it is not yet developed as an access site. 

Silver Lake is producing good number of  ‘gills and redears of the 8-to10-inch class.

Ice fishermen can park at the DNR property, but many anglers access Silver Lake from a church parking lot on the south side of U.S. 20. 

Pearson says Sylvan Lake’s 630 surface acres of water will be the best bet for ice anglers in District 3, citing a big population of bluegills that run seven to eight inches, a good population of walleyes that will meet the state minimum-size limit of 14 inches, and the potential for perch of the 8-to-10-inch range.

Sylvan Lake is a long, east-west body of water situated at Rome City (Noble County). Pearson thinks of it as having three main basins, with a maximum depth of 36 feet in Cain Basin at the southeast end of the lake.

A large island separates Cain Basin, and a more shallow basin in the northeast corner of the lake from a large, nameless central basin, and the lake continues into the west basin through a narrow neck. A boat ramp and public fishing area is located near the outlet of the west basin. Central and west basins of Sylvan Lake have maximum depths of less than 20 feet.

Pearson says that while Cain Basin is best for bluegills, the central basin is most popular for walleyes, and the west end of the lake (around the dam) is best for perch, all of the big three species will be found in all parts of the lake.

He says the Division of Fish and Wildlife has been stocking large walleye fingerlings at Sylvan the last three or four years. He adds that the central basin probably is best for walleye because this part of the lake has a rocky, gravel bottom.

 “The walleye are getting old enough now that they all are going to be 14, 16, 18 inches.” The minimum size limit for walleyes in Hoosier waters is 14 inches unless otherwise noted in the regulations.

Braun says some of his best ice-fishing will involve bluegills and redear sunfish on Round and Blue lakes in northeastern Whitley County, but he afterthoughts that that Winona Lake, at the town of the same name (Kosciusko County), also offers very good fishing for bluegill, bass and walleye.

Then, if snaking a big bass through an ice hole is your cup-o’-tea, Braun throws in Robinson Lake, the 59-acre natural lake on the Whitley/Kosciusko county line (roughly 10 miles east of Warsaw).

Blue and Round lakes are part of the Blue River (AKA Thorn Creek) watershed that is tributary to Eel River. That alone would suggest pretty good water and fishing to match.

Blue Lake, 239 acres near the town of Churubusco (shades of the Busco Beast more than 50 years ago) offers bluegills that range from those 7 ½ to 8-inch standards up to 10 inchers, Braun says. The public access site, known as Harold’s Landing, is on County Road 55 North.

The aforementioned Busco Beast was a very large turtle that reportedly was sighted on Blue Lake, but never authenticated. It drew hundreds of curious folks to the area.

Round Lake, 131 acres with a maximum depth 63 feet, is situated roughly 12 miles west of blue lake on a tributary of the Blue River (one of three Hoosier streams that are thusly named). Indiana’s other two Blue Rivers are in central and southern parts of the state.

Round Lake is connected to both Little Cedar Lake and Cedar Lake, and the public access site on North Fish Hatchery Road provides access to all of the three lakes. The ‘gills of these lakes run up to 10 inches, Braun says.

Wynona Lake, 562 acres with a maximum depth of 80 feet, features walleyes up to six or seven pounds, Braun says, adding that good numbers of 14-inch-plus largemouth will be found there, not to mention bluegills of the eight-inch class.

The Winona Lake public access site is situated on Smith Street in the town of Winona Lake.

Robinson Lake, 59 acres, is situated four miles northwest of the town of Larwill on the Whitley/Kosciusko County Line. There is a daily limit of two bass per day and a minimum size limit of 18 inches. It is a part of the Deniston Natural Resources Area.

Wisener starts by pointing out that even though his centrally located District 5 is not the place to be if you are a dyed-in-the-wool hard-water angler. But he is quick to point out that this part of the state always offers some ice fishing, limited as it may be.

Wisener does not hesitate in naming Summit Lake, eight miles northeast of Newcastle in Henry County (east-central Indiana) as a “best bet” for bluegill, walleye, redear sunfish and yellow (ring) perch.

This man-made lake on the headwaters of Indiana’s central Blue River, is in Summit Lake State Park. Thus, it offers plenty of parking and easy access to the ice.

“For a lake of that size, Summit seems to freeze up early . . . it pretty regularly gets good ice . . .”

Wisener says bluegill is definitely the top species in the lake, but he adds that walleye seem to be taking off . . . “we have a couple of good year classes of walleye.”

Walleyes run up to 26 inches, Wisener says, pointing out that earlier surveys turned up lots of walleye that ranged just below the 14-inch minimum size limit, and that those fish probably are legal size now.

Recent surveys of the lake have not turned up great numbers of perch, Wisener says, but he adds that other indicators (including creel checks) note that there are some perch up to 15 inches.

Summit Lake also offers a good population of largemouth bass.

Southern district biologists point out that while the length and geographic location of Indiana tends to eliminate ice fishing on larger bodies of water in most years in the southern half of the state, smaller standing waters (especially farm ponds and small watershed lakes) offer some good fishing for a variety of species. Ice doesn’t usually come as early there, nor does it last as long. But the smaller southern waters do get safe ice occasionally.

The southern-district biologists are Dave Kittaka, District 6 (10 counties on the western border of the state immediately south of District 5); Dan Carnahan, District 7 (10 counties in the southwest corner of the state), and Larry Lehman, District (the 0ther 14 counties of the southeastern part of the state immediately south of District 4 

Kittaka pinpoints smaller strip pits in Greene-Sullivan State Forest, and small ponds and Lakes of the Indiana State Forests and Hoosier National Forest, especially for bluegills, redear sunfish, bass and crappies. He adds that the Division of Fish and Wildlife has been stocking smaller standing waters with thousands of channel catfish fingerlings and that this fishery has much to offer if the iceman comes to the south.

Carnahan nods in favor of small lakes at Ferdinand State Forest on the Dubois/Perry county line, and the water-supply lakes of Oakland City, and other smaller cities and towns for a panfish/bass smorgasbord. Lehman says Delaney Park Lake, off of Ind. 135 in Washington County offers very good fishing for bluegill and redear. He adds that Yellowwood Lake, in Yellowwood State Forest (Brown County) has been giving up strings of 10-inch bluegills.

To polish off this collection of ice-fishing potential of Hoosierland, I asked Bill James, chief of the DFW’s Fisheries Section for many years, to pinpoint some of the spots he would go for various of the more-popular species of game fish.

Bill’s picks: For bluegill and redear, Summit Lake; For Walley, Maxinkuckee, or Sullivan Lake at the Town of Sullivan for hybrid walleye (saugeye); Perch, Lake Wawasee, or many of the other natural lakes of the northeast; For northern pike, the narrows between Lake James and Snow Lake (far northeast corner of the state); For Largemouth bass, the natural lakes of the northeast on first ice, and For crappies, Dogwood Lake (Glendale State Fish and Wildlife Area in Daviess County, or Sullivan Lake.