Photo by TimLesmeister.

City dwellers will find plenty of good ice-fishing this year just a stone's throw from home. There may only be a few weeks of solid ice, but when the ice is on, the bite can be hot. If you live in one of the state's urban areas, here's where you'll find some great hardwater action this year.

LAKE GEORGE
Hardwater anglers willing to drive to some great fishing are in for a treat this year. Lake George is within range of anglers from South Bend, Elkhart, Angola and Fort Wayne, and it is a lake that is more than worth the trip.

"I'd recommend Lake George for northern pike this winter," fisheries biologist Neil Ledet said. "This lake is the best spot for northerns in the northeastern corner of the state. All you need is a tip-up with a minnow or a jig and they'll tear you up."

Pike in the lake run from 25 to 30 inches, though most of them will be less than 22 inches in length. Even the smaller ones are powerhouses with razor-sharp teeth. Northern pike are not known for being fussy about what they eat. A big pike will eat fish up to one-third its own size and thinks nothing of refuting an angler's claim to who's boss.

The lake's average depth is just over 20 feet. If green vegetation can be located, there should be some pike close by.

When it's time for lure selection, jigs and jigging spoons complement live minnows well. Choose colors to mimic the lake's yellow perch, golden shiners and smaller pike. Northern pike will take a variety of baits, but matching the hatch is always a good bet. Pike will cruise right under the ice where the dissolved oxygen is concentrated. The hard surface seems to free them of their obsession with cover.

Assistant fisheries biologist Jeremy Price is more impressed with the lake's crappies.

"I've been told by several anglers that they've caught some really big crappies," Price said. "During our surveys, most of them were little guys, but some were in the 7- to 9-inch bracket with a couple over 13 inches."

Good-sized redears showed up in recent surveys as well, especially on the northern shoreline just to the east of the boat launch. Anglers can expect to see 'gills pushing quality sizes, too, Price said.

The lake is best known for its crappies, said Randy Dammarell of Lake George Bait and Tackle. The biggest he's personally seen was a 14-inch fish; of late, though, the bluegill, bass and channel catfish fisheries have been coming on strong.

Lake George covers 509 acres in Steuben County, Indiana, and Branch County, Michigan.

For more information, contact the District 2 office at (260) 829-6241 or the Lake George Bait and Tackle at (219) 945-1907. Local lodging information can be obtained by calling the Steuben County Tourism Bureau at (800) 525-3101.

BLUE LAKE
"Blue Lake near Churubusco has been a popular bluegill ice-fishing lake for many years and is only about 20 miles northwest of Fort Wayne," fisheries biologist Jed Pearson said.

Bluegill and crappie action is the draw to Blue Lake.

"I normally fish with spikes or wax worms for bluegills and crappies that are holding deep this time of the year," said Dave Bailey, a resident angler.

"I usually fish over 10 to 15 feet of water for crappies," Bailey said. "For bluegills, you have to look for the greener weeds and then fish right on the edges of the weedbeds."

The bluegills aren't as large as they used to be, Bailey said, but the crappies are running anywhere from the usual 8- or 9-inchers up to 12 and 13 inches.