According to Anweilar, the traditional live minnow produces more crappies than anything else. If an angler becomes tired of baiting a hook with a minnow, he can graduate to a jig with a black head and red trailer. Jigs tipped with a minnow or a wax worm often works wonders.

The lake covers 3,060 acres and is located four miles south of Syracuse in Kosciusko County.

For more information, contact the DFW’s District 3 at (260) 691-3181 or the Smokey’s Landing bait shop at (574) 457-5232.

MISSISSINEWA LAKE
“The Upper Wabash reservoirs have always been good for crappies, especially white crappies,” said Stu Shipman, the Northern Fisheries supervisor. “The lake is more of a numbers lake with most of the fish ranging in size from 6 to 8 inches. Occasionally, there’s a 14-incher caught, and at times, there will be a lot of fish almost that large.”

“The crappies are thick in here,” said Max Eckelbarger of Buck’s Bait in Peru. “Spawning crappies offer good fishing in the spring and there’s some nice-sized fish. I’ve seen a few over 12 inches myself.”

Fathead minnows are the way to go, Eckelbarger said. The old stand-by, a 1/32-ounce jighead with a colored tail, also catches plenty of fish. An angler just needs to start experimenting to find the color of the day.

Crappies start gravitating toward the warmest water in the lake to take advantage of inactive minnows and insects. Water temperatures in the 40- to 50-degree range draw them into the shallows and as temperatures reach 62 to 68 degrees, spawning takes off in earnest. Beds are formed near emergent vegetation and woody cover and the nest-guarding males are easily caught. For a couple of weeks, the bite will be hot.

As summer settles in, the fish will move out into deeper water where they often suspend. Electronics are especially effective in locating suspended or deeper crappies without spending much time beating dead water.

Mississinewa Lake is long and narrow, covering 3,280 acres. It goes through annual drawdowns and refilling, which is usually completed by early May. The gravel, limestone and rocks make up the lion’s share of the structure. Downed trees are fish magnets.

The best spring location bets are the Liston and Goose creek areas, where these streams inflow the lake. Sometimes the fish will be just upstream and at other times out in deeper water.

The lake is located in Grant, Miami and Wabash counties.

For additional information, contact the Northern Region office at (260) 244-6805 or Buck’s Bait at (765) 473-7612.

Visit the DFW’s Web site at www.in.gov.dnr/fishwild/” for more information.