That had always been the case at the Dean Mitchell discharge when it was open to the public. Some fish were caught almost daily, some days more than others. The fishing never got as good as is was by my "trespassing acquaintances" because the number of browns finding the warmwater zone was never allowed to peak, until the plant went on strike and fishermen were excluded from fishing there.

Early-season boaters are well aware of this. Several of the warmwater discharge areas are inaccessible to shore-bound anglers, and in these areas, huge numbers of browns accumulate over the winter. It's access to the lake that is the problem. Launch sites are mostly in secluded harbors at Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Portage and Michigan City. Once the water at the boat ramps freeze solid, boating is over for the season.

Most years, some time in February, the ice will melt in the marinas; this event opens them up to boat traffic. Once the ramps are clear, anxious anglers with trailerable boats are quick to suit up with warm clothes and head for the warmwater zones, which have been collecting brown trout all winter long.

From the marinas at Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago, boaters head for the Indiana Harbor Ship canal. This harbor is huge with plenty of warm water and enough room for dozens of boats to troll. Probably no one spot in Indiana gives up so many browns to early-season fishermen.

If there's a close second, it's the discharge area at the "Gary Light" where U.S. Steel puts out a strong flow to keep the harbor open. The Gary Light area is equidistant from the marina at East Chicago or boaters accessing the lake via Burns Waterway.

The mouth of Burns Waterway produces plenty of browns for boaters, and if that doesn't suit your fancy and the weather is good, it's possible to head east, around the Port of Indiana to the Bailey Discharge. Sure, it's a shore access site, but the number of fishermen trying that spot on foot is negligible.

At Michigan City, the mouth of Trail Creek and the shallow water by the Nipsco plant discharge offer solid opportunities for early-season trollers, as well. Dress warmly, watch the weather and be quick to call it a day if conditions change.

Both trolling with artificial lures and fishing from a non-moving boat is effective. Trollers choose small spoons and plugs with vivid paint jobs. The water at these sites is often turbid and the bright colors show up well and trigger the browns to strike.

Fishermen in boats moored or anchored at the discharge sites often use a double-barreled approach. One or two rods are cast out with bait either weighted to the bottom or suspended under a bobber. While waiting for a fish to pick up the bait, another rod is used to cast and retrieve either a spoon or crankbait.

A variety of bait will work. From the supermarket, try shrimp, squid or smelt. From the bait shop, try night crawlers or golden shiners.

Ed and Dave may have cornered the market on brown trout that one long-ago winter, but there are plenty of opportunities for browns these days that don't require bending the rules a bit to participate.