Dick G Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 There are plenty of options for fishing in Illinois, but every state around us has some great looking rivers that hold smallmouth. Here are a few pictures from Easter Sunday taken in Indiana. The famous Indiana limestone creates a lot of dramatic streams. This looks like it could be from Wisconsin or the UP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambennett Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 Very nice pics. Which river is this? I had a chance to fish the White River in Indianapolis last year with a good friend. Beautiful water, nice and clear for an urban fishery. The smallmouth were on the smaller side when compared to the Fox. Sugar Creek is supposed to be amazing. The same buddy pulled a really big smallie out of there last summer. It's got me itching to visit again. -SB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon p Posted April 6, 2013 Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 Sugar Creek is beautiful........................smallies we not huge but I only fished it twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Durham Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 Anyone who wants to float/fish Sugar Creek this summer let me know. Hopefully the water levels are improved as I recall Bterrill mentioned the water levels were really down last year. I follow his blog and he is off to a terrific start this year. Was planning to do a weekend trip and base in Crawfordsville unless someone has better suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted April 7, 2013 Report Share Posted April 7, 2013 The problem with Sugar is its incessant canoe hatch which occurs even on weekdays once the school year ends.The only way to avoid it is to fish upstream of the launches in the morning and downstream in late pm/evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick G Posted April 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2013 The falls are called Cataract Falls. Believe it or not, the stream is not even a river. It is Mill Creek, a branch of the Eel River. Big Walnut Creek is also in the same watershed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bterrill Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 Dick-the rest of the story is Mill Creek is choked with wood, sand, and low gradient. I would never, never recommend that one to a person to fish it for smb, though the pool above the falls there has a nice smallmouth or two, it is a LMB stream as they get swept over the dam from the lake. Siltation, siltation, siltation is the problem. Be prepared to fish a lot of laydowns and exposed roots. We have a lot of rivers and creeks, almost all have all or some of the three basses. Just depends how hard you are willing to work, which can be very hard. Drought leaves long stretches of creeks with very spooky fish, where super long casts, ninja like footfalls. Often a lot more like stalking trout. I wouldn't expect to do better than the rivers you know well at home though. Come to Indiana if you want to see something new. Same reason I'd go to Illinois, running out of in state wonders to see. To triumph consistently, you'd need to visit a lot. Canoe brigade can be a problem on many streams as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bterrill Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 Very nice pics. Which river is this? I had a chance to fish the White River in Indianapolis last year with a good friend. Beautiful water, nice and clear for an urban fishery. The smallmouth were on the smaller side when compared to the Fox. Sugar Creek is supposed to be amazing. The same buddy pulled a really big smallie out of there last summer. It's got me itching to visit again. -SB The White is probably the best fishery in the state (Tippecanoe River), though it is right through the city, so not as pleasing as other Indiana streams. There are tons of 17-21" bass in there and generally thicker than most rivers in Indiana. Bigger fish tend to eat right before dark in Summer. You'd want to float it and cover water. There are places you can wade, but it won't cover enough ground to put up huge numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambennett Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 We spot hopped the White with good success. I agree that there's a lot of water you can't reach by wading alone. There are several spots that combine for a very solid day of fishing. I actually prefer to fish urban water and the White hits that sweet spot. On one stretch there was a huge graffitti piece that read, "Oprah Made Me Do It." Not going to get that on Sugar Creek... Different strokes for different folks. -SB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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