The long-awaited ice fishing season is finally here! As soon as the ice is safe, Hoosier ice fishermen make a beeline for the nearest fishing hole. Although there is a multitude of lakes to choose from in our state, we have singled out two great places that you should try this winter: Pike Lake in north-central Indiana and Goose Lake in the northeastern “natural lakes” region.

Pike Lake

Pike Lake in Kosciusco County is a 228-acre natural lake located on the north side of Warsaw. Since it is situated so closely to a heavily populated area, it gets plenty of fishing pressure. However, anglers still do well here. The lake’s population of largemouth bass, walleyes, bluegills, crappies, white bass and catfish seems to be very healthy.

According to past DNR reports, Pike Lake can be a good bet for ice fishermen this winter. You can catch quite a few different species by jigging right out in front of the beach. Channel catfish, white bass and walleyes are common catches here, including through the ice. Anglers can also find numbers of bluegills, crappies and yellow perch.

Indiana DNR fisheries biologists have performed creel surveys on Pike in the past, and the data showed that both panfish and predator fish populations are doing well. Bluegills have been caught up to 9 inches, while crappies typically run 8 to 10. White bass range from 12 to 15 inches, and channel cats can get up to 30. That’s not bad, especially when you consider that there is also a good walleye fishery here. Walleye stockings have kept the population fairly plentiful, and large individuals can measure over 25 inches.

The ice fishing begins to heat up as soon as the ice is safe and anglers begin to search out productive areas. There has not been much aquatic vegetation beyond about 4 or 5 feet deep, but in the shallows, anglers will find a lot of naiads and some milfoil. Look along the deeper edges of those weeds for good panfish action.

There is good public access here, and anglers will find plenty of parking at the city park.

Goose Lake

Whitley County’s Goose Lake lies a few miles northwest of Columbia City and is somewhat of a sleeper lake. It doesn’t seem to get the fishing pressure of other larger, better-known waters—and no one is complaining. Although it covers a total of only 84 surface acres, there always seems to be plenty of room for the anglers who fish it.

The lake is somewhat oblong and shaped like a bean, with an extremely deep hole out in the center of the lake. The maximum depth there is 69 feet. There is another deep hole to the northwest where the depth reaches 65 feet, and there are good breaklines to fish around in both these spots.

Past DNR reports point to this lake as one to visit if you are interested in catching nice-sized panfish. Yellow perch, bluegills and redear sunfish are plentiful, and they are big. DNR fisheries surveys have recorded bluegills up to 10 inches and redear sunfish up to 11. It is best to release really large panfish like that to protect the resource, but they are certainly fun to catch! Yellow perch up to 13 inches were also recorded during those surveys. Largemouth bass are present in the lake, too.

There is a fair amount of vegetation in Goose Lake, and the weed lines often hold numbers of fish. One spot that attracts anglers is the deeper water at the south end of the lake. The depth varies anywhere from 20 to 30 feet (maybe even a little deeper), and this can be a good place to find schools of dandy-sized yellow perch and bull bluegills. Live baits like wigglers and bee moths are dynamite baits for both species.

These lakes are certainly not your only ice fishing choices this winter, but they might help get you started. Just be sure that the ice is safe before you venture out on any lake for a day of hardwater fun!

Interested in fishing a different location this season? You’ll find plenty of suggestions in every issue of MidWest Outdoors. Subscribe on our website.