"We surveyed Wolf in 2005 using electroshocking, gill nets and trap nets," said Jeremy Price, the District 1 assistant fisheries biologist.

"The walleye stocking program taken on by Perch America has done some really great things and there are a lot of nice walleyes to be taken. A whole-lake vegetation treatment was completed in the spring of 2004 and that kind of turned things upside down for a while for the walleye anglers, but I think things are probably getting better for them."

Bluegills and yellow perch are present but not impressive, Price said.

"The bluegill population was marginal. Our stock indices indicate a balanced population, but growth was slower than district averages and we collected no fish larger than 6 1/2 inches. We caught a few yellow perch that were flirting with quality sizes."

White perch are everywhere, Price said, and are an invasive species and tend to wreak havoc with lake food chains. However, they're in Wolf, Price said, and anglers might as well make the best of it. They definitely should keep what they catch in order to help native species out.

Last but not least, Wolf Lake is also home to northern pike, redear sunfish, pumpkinseeds, warmouths and tiger muskies.

Wolf Lake covers 385 acres in Lake County and is located on 121st Street at Calumet Avenue in Hammond.

For additional information, contact District 1 at (574) 896-3673 or the Hammond Marina at (219) 659-7678.

PLEASANT/RIDDLES LAKES
A one-fourth-mile channel in Lakeville connects Riddles and Pleasant lakes. These lakes are near the top of biologist Robertson's picks for ice-fishing destinations. Biologists recently completed a fisheries survey in 2003 and found nice opportunities for bluegills, crappies and largemouth bass.

"We were surprised by a few 14- inch crappies," Price said.

According to Price, bluegills and redears were sampled that measured up into the 8-inch bracket. Walleyes were found in both lakes but not in great numbers.

Bonnie Kelley of Kelley's Bait and Tackle has been in business for 42 years. She's seen plenty of ice-fishing seasons on Pleasant and Riddles lakes come and go.

"The ice-fishing is great at times, and at other times it's not," Kelley said.

"We haven't had any decent ice for the last two or three years, but cold-weather fishing is still good. As soon as the ice is off, the boats are out there."

Kelley pointed out that there aren't any spots on these lakes that are better than others. From her years of experience, she's noticed that ice-fishermen frequently change locations. On Riddles, the south side of the lake sometimes produces more panfish, since the lake is shallower and there is more submerged structure there, but being a smaller body of water, the fish can still be just about anywhere. It might also be worthwhile to check out recently dredged spots near the channel.

Another tip that Kelley is willing to provide is that anglers shouldn't be fishing deep. The fish are usually shallow when they're actively biting.

The two top producers for all species are wax worms and red wrigglers, Kelley said. Red worms, night crawlers, minnows and leeches are popular alternatives.

The channel between the two lakes can be treacherous at best for ice-fishermen. The current seldom allows safe ice to form there.

Both of these waters are small and often overlooked. Pleasant covers 106 acres and Riddles covers 77 acres. Access is from the ramp on Pleasant Lake, and Riddles is accessible from the navigable channel stretching between them. Ice-anglers can walk on from the ramp located off U.S. Route 31 on the north end of the lake. There is no public access from the Riddles shoreline.

The public access site is located on the west end of Pleasant Lake in St. Joseph County, directly off U.S. 31. Kelly's Bait is located on the western shoreline of Pleasant Lake, just north of the ramp. Call (574) 784-8859 for more information.

For additional information on Hoosier ice-fishing opportunities, visit the Division of Fish and Wildlife online at www.in.gov/dnr.

Find more about Indiana fishing and hunting at: IndianaGameandFish.com