Indiana DNR Shares Indiana Lakes with Striped and Hybrid Bass

There is good news for fishermen in Indiana! The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) East Fork State Fish Hatchery has completed its annual hybrid striped bass and striped bass stockings in 12 lakes throughout the state. In total, 146,000 hybrid striped bass fingerlings and 78,000 striped bass fingerlings, measuring 1–2 inches in length, have been added to Indiana lakes and reservoirs this August.

The stockings aren’t new for the DNR, as striped and hybrid striped bass have been introduced into lakes and reservoirs in Indiana for over a decade. The department says the stockings are done to diversify the fishing species and increase predation in waters with abundant populations of baitfish, such as Gizzard Shad.

Striped and hybrid striped bass serve as prime open-water predators that thrive on schooling baitfish. The DNR says these bass can help control baitfish numbers and create angling opportunities that would otherwise not be present. Another benefit of sustaining a healthy population of striped and hybrid bass is that these fish grow larger than native white bass, allowing them to feed on baitfish that have grown too large for most native predatory fish. Striped bass and hybrids also make great table fare and are known to be strong fighters when hooked.

Below is a list of the stockings of hybrid and striped bass by lake and county in Indiana:

• Patoka Lake (Dubois, Crawford, and Orange) – 10,000 striped bass and 44,000 hybrids
• Hardy Lake (Scott) – 1,000 striped bass and 7,000 hybrids
• Monroe Lake (Monroe and Brown) – 53,750 hybrids
• Brookville Lake (Union and Franklin) – 46,667 striped bass
• Cecil M. Harden Lake (Parke) – 20,600 striped bass
• Shadyside Park Lake (Madison) – 1,000 hybrids
• Clare Lake (Huntington) – 420 hybrids
• Lake Freeman (Carroll and White) – 15,470 hybrids
• Nyona Lake (Fulton) – 1,040 hybrids
• Lake Shafer (White) – 12,910 hybrids
• Cedar Lake (Lake) – 7,810 hybrids
• Worster Lake (St. Joseph) – 3,270 hybrids

Indiana anglers can look forward to continued quality striped and hybrid striped bass fishing opportunities in the coming years as a result of these stockings. To learn more about striped and hybrid striped bass fishing, visit bit.ly/striped-hybrid-bass-fishing.

Learn about purchasing a fishing license at on.IN.gov/fishinglicense.

To view more DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.

Keith Lusher

Keith Lusher is an award winning outdoor journalist that resides in Covington, Louisiana. He owns and operates NorthshoreFishingReport.com and writes a weekly outdoor column for the Slidell Independent Newspaper. He also writes for the St.Tammany Parish Tourism Commission’s VisitTheNorthshore.com. He is the former host of The Northshore Fishing Report Radio Show and is on the board of the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association. Keith contributes to numerous publications both online and in print and prides himself on promoting South Louisiana’s unique fishery. To contact Keith email: [email protected]