Lake Monroe is the biggest Lake in Indiana, gets the most fishing and pleasure boats, and probably has more spun props and other minor accidents than any other Indiana Lake.

Right now, it is probably as close to the biggest it has ever been! Lots of rain during most of this year is part of the cause, but the Corps of Engineers is partly the blame, as it has been holding water back to prevent flooding in the Salt Creek basin. You can’t really blame them for doing what they are supposed to do!

The other problem is that stumps left after the initial impoundment are now underwater—and often just barely! What looks like “great running on plane water” often holds stumps just below the surface. These usually don’t snag hulls, but the props on gas engines are often spun, leaving boaters literally powerless. I have personally had that happen several times, and had to be towed in, or crawled in using the electric trolling motor.

I strongly recommend a depth finder mounted on the console to make the driver aware of the depth they are running in when on plane—or otherwise. I have two friends who have wrecked their ski boats because they had no idea that they were in shallow water that required idling speed until they were in a safe depth.

One remedy is carrying a prop kit to repair the problem if/when it happens. Sometimes, you can flag in a passing boat or call DNR for assistance. But if you are literally up the creek in the eastern part of the lake, cell service or other boaters may not be available. Even watching the depth finder hasn’t helped my son Darren and I, as we have spun props late in the evening and had to crawl back to the ramp on just our trolling motor.

The best preparation for such an incident is a prop kit, necessary tools, a tow rope, and a working cell phone for possible cell service. My grandson Reece works at 4 Winds Marina during the summer, and he says he is repairing spun props every day for many of their pontoon and pleasure craft ski boats rentals, especially with the high water.

It’s one thing to spin a prop, and quite another to tear a hole in the hull of a boat! We did that several years ago on Geist Reservoir in Indianapolis. We knew where there is a protruding pipe and thought that we were past it, but then heard the sickening crunch as it imbedded itself into the fiberglass hull of my Ranger Bass Boat.

Lake Monroe is a wonderful fishery and a fun place to ski, tube, and just generally enjoy nature, especially during the fall colors/ leaf season. But there have been fatalities on the lake—some caused by recklessness, others by unfortunate accidents, and some by the failure to wear life jackets when the big engine is running.

Monroe’s natural beauty and abundance of large and smallmouth bass, wipers (hybrid striped bass) catfish, crappies, carp (fun to catch and eat if prepared correctly and great sport with a bow and arrow), bluegills, and redear sunfish are a wonderful asset to us locals, as well as to other Hoosiers and visitors from other states. The lake just produced the new state record smallmouth, and as far as I know still holds the world record for yellow bass, a relative of white bass.

On the subject of the white bass family, wipers—white bass-striped bass hybrids—are incredible and are often caught trolling. Even better is if you catch a school of them feeding on shad that they have driven to the surface. Typically, they don’t stay up for long, but my son John and I and another boat of lucky anglers once had them corralled for about 40 minutes, and we will never forget that amazing fishing event. The fish were in the 8- to 10-pound range, and when it was over our boat was a mess of tangled line, fish scales, slime, and blood! My video camera laid on the seat of our boat, unused to record the most amazing fishing event we have ever been privy to.

If you live close by, it’s nice to avoid the holiday crowds and enjoy more scenery and serenity, and occasional wildly successful outings that are the norm on weekdays and quieter weekends. There are even some hunting opportunities for deer, quail, grouse, turkey, squirrels and frogs and the aforementioned carp. Just be sure to read the laws for hunting from a boat.

Make sure your boat has a lake launch permit, visible registration numbers, up-to-date plates for the trailer, a park pass if you launch from Paynetown or Fairfax State Recreation Areas, and of course a fishing or hunting license. Some of the best people I have met on Monroe are the Conservation officers. Their job involves keeping us legal and safe and there are times when that is thankless work!

Yellowwood State Forest, Brown County State Park, Morgan Monroe State Forest, a Spring Mill State Park, and McCormicks Creek State Park also have camping and small lakes for fishing and the state parks have lodging and dining. McCormicks Creek has a stream, but the fishing there is not much. Nashville also has restaurants and lodging as does Martinsville and Bedford.

In conclusion, Lake Monroe is a wonderful source of pleasure, relaxation, great fishing for fun and fillets, so plan your trip, make accommodations ahead if you’re from out of town, and enjoy the city of Bloomington and the great entertainment, dining, and lodging. And if you’re there when IU is in session you might even get to take in big 10 football, soccer, basketball, and lots of other events!

The state offers camping at Paynetown State Recreation Area and at the federal facility at Hardin Ridge. There are also private campgrounds available. There are two boat rental facilities—one at Cutright ramp and another at 4 Winds Marina. 4 winds also has a restaurant and lodging. Scenic View on 446 north of the lake has great food and camping spots. The lake has 9 boat ramps scattered along both the south and north shores. The Fishing Shedd is across the highway from the entrance to Paynetown State Recreation Area on Highway 446, and they have everything you can imagine for fishing, boating, and camping. If they don’t have it, you probably don’t need it!

So, for a safe, delightful trip, watch your depth finder and always idle in shallow water. Monroe is full of fish and places for them to hide!