Here is your chance to directly help in fisheries management. The information you provide is essential in understanding this valuable species and helps the Department of Natural Resources monitor harvest and catch data.
Division of Fish & Wildlife staff collect reports as time permits. During winter months, angler effort is lower, and fewer fishing reports are received, so the reports may be updated less frequently than during other seasons. Additionally, with changing weather conditions and delays between receiving past reports and the public reading them online, ice reports may be unreliable
| Waterbody | Fishing Report | Date |
|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph River (below Twin Branch Dam) | The report is mostly unchanged. With nice, dry sunny weather few additional steelhead have been coming upstream. There are a few around to be caught - try fishing at dawn and dusk, in low light periods. Water temps are good for aggressive feeding, try casting brightly colored spinners, crankbaits, and spoons, or floating skein. Smallmouth bass are still a good bet, using crankbaits, jerkbaits, ned rigs, and topwater during low light periods. They will start migrating toward deeper wintering holes soon, and may be concentrated in larger schools, or be completely absent from areas they were inhabiting during the summer. Look for fast current near woody debris/logjams and depth changes. A variety of fish are being caught near the dams on live bait. Look to lower current areas with wood or weeds for panfish. The South Bend Fish Passage dashboard is back operational after technical difficulties earlier this year | 10/30/2026 |
| Lake Michigan (boat) | Very little effort has occured, leading to few reports. There have been a few reports near the Michigan state line of catching immature kings and steelhead on spoons in 90-120 feet. Lake trout are showing up- cast or troll near structure such as breakwalls near Port of Indiana, Hammond, Michigan City, and East Chicago, or near the structure in the Indiana Shoals area by the Gong. Smallmouth bass should be putting on the fall feedbag as temps cool off. Jerkbaits, goby imitations, and soft plastic/minnow combos are all good options. The water is still in the high-50s, which is a bit warm for perch to be schooling up in their wintering areas. The Michigan City buoy is deployed for the season, and can be viewed at https://data.freeboard.tech/station/45170/ | 10/30/2026 |
| Lake Michigan (shore) | There are still some zombie kings in East Chicago harbor, but with bright sunny weather the bite has been tough. Fish during low light or at night with glow spoons or rattling deep diving crankbaits, or skein under a bobber. Lake trout are just starting to show up, and the next cold front we get should pull more into the harbors and lower parts of Trail Creek and Burns Ditch. A couple whitefish have been caught in Michigan City, and a few pike have been reported in weedy areas of harbors as well. | 10/30/2026 |
| Lake Michigan Tributaries (Trail Creek, Little Calumet River, Salt Creek) | The report is mostly unchanged - the underwhelming salmon run is mostly over, and we're waiting on some rain for a shot of fresh winter-run steelhead. Anglers are catching a few fish here and there in all the streams, including Deep River. Try skein or small spawn bags. Be aware that fall fingerling coho were recently stocked in Trail Creek and East Branch Little Calumet - if you are catching a lot of smolts, that usually means there aren't aggressive adult fish in that spot, so you should move on. The smolts are the future of the fishery - please try to avoid catching them if possible, and treat with care if you do catch some. Please respect fellow anglers, private property, and please do not litter! For links to stream flow, see the links below the report tables | 10/30/2026 |
| Northwest Indiana Lakes | As the water cools, look for aggressive bass with jerkbaits, chatterbaits, or topwater on inside weedlines, dropoffs, and near docks. Panfish are still schooled up and may be on deep weedlines or suspended over open water. Use electronics to find them and then target with slip bobbers or tightlining | 9/25/2026 |
| Lake Monroe | Water temperatures are sitting between 63 and 67 degrees, and the US Army Corps of Engineers is looking much better compared to last month with good oxygen levels down past 15 feet. USACE data is taken from beyond the buoy line near the dam, so dissolved oxygen conditions may be different further from the dam. Crappie fishing has been very good on Lake Monroe with boat and shore anglers catching both lots of fish and large fish. If you are fishing from shore, try one of the several boat docks and piers with live minnows or small jigs and soft plastic baits. Make sure to follow all posted property rules if fishing from a public dock or marina. Indiana DNR biologists also just wrapped up a fall electrofishing survey on Lake Monroe. Lots of Largemouth Bass were collected with fish in the 2-5 pound range being common. Four Walleye and 4 Hybrid Striped Bass were also collected | 10/30/2026 |
| East Fork White River | Water levels came up substantially in August as the floodwaters made their way south, peaking at over 20 feet on August 20th near the city of Bedford, Indiana. Over the last week, water levels in the White River have fallen quickly, currently sitting at around 8 feet and continuing to drop. Exercise caution while traveling to and on the river as the recent flooding may have damaged roads and shorelines and moved debris around. | 9/3/2026 |
| Northern Indiana musky lakes | Fall offers some of the year’s best opportunities for trophy muskies in northern Indiana, in lakes such as Webster, Barbee Chain, Bruce, Tippy Chain. As baitfish consolidate and water temperatures stabilize, muskies are increasingly active and respond well to both trolling and casting presentations. Anglers focusing on deeper edges, transitional structure, and large baits should expect consistent action and potential for fish over 40 inches. | 9/25/2026 |
| Worster Lake (Potato Creek) | Water temperatures are sitting at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit with good oxygen down to 15 feet. A survey completed on 9/22/26 showed a very healthy population of Hybrid Striped Bass with multiple measuring over 28 inches and weighing more than 10 pounds. Crankbaits and other active lures that mimic gizzard shad are a great way to fish for this species. Remember this is an electric only lake | 9/25/2026 |
| Big Turkey Lake | Anglers reporting catching bass using Texas rig, swim baits, and chatterbaits. Most anglers were targeting weedlines and piers | 9/25/2026 |
| Shadyside Lake | Water temperatures are currently in the upper 60s. Biologists recently completed a targeted hybrid striped bass survey on Shadyside Lake. Higher abundances of hybrid striped bass were observed in the north basin, with the largest being over 30 inches and 13lbs. Anglers looking to target hybrid striped bass should try chicken livers or baits that mimic shad. Quality sized channel catfish were also seen during the survey. | 10/7/2026 |
| Patoka Lake | Water temps are cooling off quickly and are in the mid 70s. Fish are beginning to transition up shallow to start their fall feeding preparation for winter. Largemouth are being caught on top water and moving/cranking baits in the shallows. Hybrid Striped Bass should be making a push to the shallows along main lake points any week now where they can be caught on just about any moving lure imitating bait fish. Catfish should also begin moving into the shallows early morning and evenings. Anglers can have success targeting catfish with chicken liver, punch/stink bait, cut bait, or live bait. Crappie will begin moving into the shallows as well and can be caught on small jigs and minnows. Anglers can have success catching crappie targeting structures along shallow points and shoreline. To view locations where there has been artificial structure placed check out the DNR habitat webpage at: https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/fishing/reservoir-habitat-enhancement-program/. | 10/5/2026 |
| West Boggs Lake | Crappie fishing has been good. A recent Bass tournament saw some good Largemouth Bass being caught, including the big fish at 5.99 pounds | 10/30/2026 |
