The north part of the main lake is on average about a one-half mile wide, and it has numerous fingers on the west side and several coves to the east.

"From what I've seen, the whole upper no-wake zone has a fair amount of timber and the cover is pretty good," Lehman said. The fingers and coves have a lot of stickups making them very suitable for crappies.

Crappie fishermen should note that Hardy Lake is a multi-use pubic facility, so it has its fair share of water skiers, and other non-fishing boaters. This will probably make the upper part of the lake -- in the no-wake zone -- more appealing to fishermen.

If you want to mix in some camping with your crappie fishing, Hardy Lake Reservoir property is the ideal place to do it because it has 149 campsites with electricity. There are also hiking trails and even pontoon-boat tours if your crappie-fishing trip turns into a family affair.

There are four public-access boat ramps located around the lake as well. For more information on Hardy Lake, call (812) 794-3800.

MONROE LAKE
Located a few miles south of Bloomington, in Brown and Monroe counties, Monroe Lake is 10,750 acres in size, and it is Indiana's largest lake.

Monroe Lake is such a good crappie fishery that the American Crappie Association (ACA) held a crappie-fishing tournament at this location in May 2006. When an outstanding organization like the ACA selects a lake for one of its nationally known tournaments, it means the fishing is more than just good.

The ACA states that its purpose is: To establish and expand a family oriented, cost-effective and competitive arena for amateur and semi-pro crappie anglers as the foundation to promote and market products and services. It is interesting to note that the ACA held a total of four tournaments in Hoosierland last year.

Three of these tournaments were held in either April or May (one tournament each at Patoka, Salamonie/Huntington and Monroe). These events are actually qualifying events in the ACA's Region 3 for the prestigious Cabela's Crappie USA Classic, which took place last September on the Pickwick/Wilson Lakes in Sheffield, Alabama.

What does this all mean for crappie fishermen? It means there are some pretty doggone good crappie fisheries right here in Indiana. It also means that lakes selected for one of these tournaments is a very likely place for you to catch slabsides!

The winners of the tournament held at Monroe last May in the Amateur Division were Joe McWhorter Senior and Joe McWhorter Junior. This team came in with 9.15 pounds of crappies (with no more than seven crappies submitted). The father-and-son team was trolling hair jigs baited with minnows and targeting brushy areas where the water is 12 feet deep.