Being on the right lake at the right time is the key to winter fishing. Nose-diving temperatures and howling winter winds don’t signal the end of the fishing season. As a matter of fact, the best fishing is just around the corner.

Don’t look any farther, here’s the inside track on the best Hoosierland lakes to dip your bait in this winter.

HAMILTON LAKE
Hamilton Lake is one of Indiana’s most interesting ice-fishing lakes. The multi-species fishing here draws plenty of anglers, as nice catches of crappies and northern pike come through the ice; however, the bluegill fishing has taken a nosedive.

Crappies are the bread and butter of the lake’s ice-fishing, according to fisheries biologist Neil Ledet. Hamilton isn’t necessarily a numbers lake, but if you’re looking for fish that will circle around and touch their tails in the bucket, this is the place to go.

The fishing isn’t always consistent, but a decent chance at 15-inch crappies makes the trip worthwhile. The fishing gets even better after ice-out, but if you wait until summer, you’ll swear there isn’t a crappie to be caught for 100 miles.

Northern pike are another of Hamilton’s hard-water highlights, Ledet said. The lake produces some nice ones.

Big northerns are active throughout the winter and thrive in the colder water. When your ears ache from the cold and the thermos won’t keep the coffee hot, big northerns are just getting warmed up. This is the time of the year when the largest pike are the most vulnerable, not only because of their propensity to roam, but primarily because they’re holding high in the water column. Dissolved oxygen in wintertime lakes will usually be at its highest concentrations right under the ice. A large minnow only 1 or 2 feet deep may be all you need to tempt a 25-inch fish. Make sure your hole is big enough to accommodate the lunkers!

Largemouth bass are overlooked as a winter species, but these game fish can definitely be taken through the ice, though not usually in big numbers. The warm-weather bassin’ in this lake is phenomenal with catch rates doubling other Hoosierland bass waters. As a bass food, shad excel.

However, shad are no friend of the lake’s bluegills and redear sunfish, Ledet said. Division of Fish and Wildlife surveys have indicated that the number of panfish in the lake has dropped over the last few years. According to Ledet, Hamilton has the lowest bluegill population of any lake in Steuben County.

The northern end of the lake is essentially a large, shallow flat. The mixture of different types of pondweeds provides some weedbeds that stay green under the ice, supplying oxygen and fish cover. The northwestern corner of the lake holds milfoil and spatterdock where northerns, bass and crappies congregate.

Points and dropoffs are throughout the rest of the lake. An underwater viewing system like an Aqua-Vu can take the guesswork out of where you should be spending your time. It also doesn’t hurt to see what the crowd is doing and buddy-up with someone whose ice rods are busy.