The dog days of summer are over. Fall is rolling in and fish are putting on the feedbag. Competition for a meal is stiff in the underwater world since the young-of-the-year prey fish have been thinned out and the onset of winter is just around the bend.

Most anglers are already in hunting mode and have put up their rods and reels. With the added room out on the water and the seasonal feeding frenzy going on below it, now is the time to get in on some of the year's best fishing.

Here's where the action is in Indiana this fall.

BROOKVILLE LAKE STRIPERS
Striper fishing is coming of age at Brookville. The fishery has had its difficulties over the years, according to fisheries biologist Rhett Wisener. Some of the problems are because of variable stocking success and others are due to water quality issues.

Overall, the number of stripers is probably lower than it's been for some time. The Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) didn't have any fish to stock some years, and sometimes the stockings didn't pan out as planned. The year-class from 2002 is saving the day. Though overall numbers are down, the good news is that these fish will be 30 inches or better and can easily tip the scales at 10 to 15 pounds. That's a big fish in anyone's book.

As this group of fish dies off and is lost to anglers, it may be several years before fish of that quality appear again, said Wisener. That's even more reason to make Brookville a priority this fall.

Brookville is the one lake in the state where live shad can be used for bait. It's tough to keep shad alive on a hook, but if anglers can get one in front of a striper, it's likely to be hit. It's preferable to collect local shad out of Brookville so that diseases or other species aren't mistakenly introduced. If shad aren't an option, tie on a big crankbait or a striper jig with a large plastic trailer.

This is the time of year to watch for the surface action where stripers are busting in on schools of shad. Stripers will herd shad to the surface and then slash them in a feeding frenzy. Toss just about any bait you'd like into the boiling shad and the stripers will hammer it.

Ramp access includes 10 separate boat launch facilities scattered around the lake.

Brookville covers 5,260 acres and averages about 30 feet deep. The lake is 16 miles long and at its widest, nearly a mile across.

Private boat rentals are available from the Quakerton Marina on the northern end of the lake and Kent's Harbor Marina on the east side.

The reservoir is located a mile north of Brookville and five miles south of Liberty on state Route (SR) 101 in Franklin and Union counties.