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5 Big-Time Indiana Bluegill Waters
Indiana Game & Fish
By Ed Harp

Now’s the time to start searching for bull bluegills in our state’s premium lakes and reservoirs. Here are five to consider.

It’s bluegill time and there’s no better place to catch them than right now on the lakes and reservoirs of our state. No matter where you live, there’s a water near you that contains bluegills. Generally, bluegill spawns are successful year after year; therefore, stocking programs are usually unnecessary, excepting in newly formed impoundments. The drought of 2007 probably didn’t have much effect on bluegills. Fortunately, most were hatched before water levels dropped precariously low.

Photo: wikipedia

In fact, the drought may have helped in some areas. Weed and brush growth on exposed land was heavy in most parts of Indiana. As a consequence, there’s likely to be plenty of springtime cover in 2008. That’ll give these panfish countless places to build their nests. It’ll also give anglers plenty of places to fish.

This article will examine five top bluegill lakes in our state. They’re all public and for the most part big. However, as good as these places are, don’t think these are the only suitable spots to bluegill fish. They aren’t.

Bluegills live almost everywhere. Small municipal water supplies, farm ponds, borrow pits and golf course ponds are often overflowing with them. And they’re frequently the places for big-time panfishing. (Keep in mind that the state record, a 3- pound, 4-ounce giant was caught by Harold Catey some 35 years ago in a Greene County farm pond.)

With all that in mind, let’s take a closer look at five -- in no particular order -- of the best bluegill venues that the Hoosier State has to offer.

Photo: wikipedia

PATOKA RESERVOIR
This sprawling 8,800-acre impoundment is in south-central Indiana in Dubois, Orange and Crawford counties. Patoka Reservoir is within easy driving distance of nearly every major city or municipality in the central and southern part of the state.

According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Patoka is a great place to fish for bluegills. There are a fair amount of shore-fishing opportunities and at least 11 boat ramps that’ll handle any reasonable sized fishing boat, including a fully equipped, modern bass boat.

Patoka bluegills spawn in stages from the middle of April through the last part of May, or in some years, the early part of June. That’s usually the best time to catch them, the biggest ones anyway. Most successful local anglers fish two general areas of the lake at this time of year -- main-lake shallow humps and backwater areas in the creeks.

The humps are easy enough to find by using your depthfinder. Follow the main-lake channel and look for sharp rises anywhere that push up to form flats.

The backwater areas of creeks are another matter. To find them, you’ll need nothing other than an eye on the shoreline. When you see a place with a cut into the hillside, or perhaps a place where a small inflow enters the water, you’re in the right spot.

Keep in mind that it doesn’t take much water to harbor bluegills. If you’re careful, and don’t bang around in the boat or shout too loudly along the shoreline, you can frequently fish all day in even the smallest of bluegill holding areas.

On the north end of the lake, try Painter Creek. A little farther to the east, you’ll find Walls Lake and Kings Bridge, both of which account for more than their fair share of trophy-sized bull bluegills. If the southern part of the lake is more convenient, you should take a close look at Sycamore, Allen or Ritter creeks. Each of these creeks has countless small branches that flow to, and from, them. They can offer good fishing, too. Don’t be afraid to move around a bit if the bite is slow.

No matter if you fish the main-lake humps or the backwater cuts of the creeks, water between 2 and 5 feet deep, with plenty of grass and wood, is your best bet at this time of year. Most of the bigger bluegills will be moving to or from their beds and this seems to be the depth they most prefer, at least when they’re actively feeding.

SUMMIT LAKE
The 800-acre Summit Lake is located about four miles north of New Castle. Summit is renowned across the state for its largemouth bass population. One reason for this is that their forage base is primarily bluegills. That’s not only good news for the largemouths, it’s good news for ...

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