Great Lakes
Fly fishing in Indiana
Short answer
Indiana fly fishing means Lake Michigan steelhead in the north-west, a cold tailwater below Brookville Lake in the south-east, and small stocked streams in between. Steelhead, brown and rainbow trout are the quarry. A licence is required from age 18, and a trout and salmon stamp is needed on top of it.
What makes Indiana different
Indiana's two trout fisheries are four hours apart and have nothing in common. In the north-west, a short run of streams drains into Lake Michigan — Trail Creek, the Little Calumet, Salt Creek — and steelhead run up them from autumn into spring, through dune country and old steel towns. The St. Joseph at South Bend adds a fish ladder and one of the better runs in the southern Great Lakes. Then at the opposite corner of the state, the East Fork of the Whitewater below Brookville Lake runs cold off the bottom of the reservoir and holds brown trout year-round, which in southern Indiana is genuinely surprising. Everything between the two is small stocked streams and very good smallmouth water, and the smallmouth is probably the better fishing.
What trout and other fish are in Indiana?
- Steelhead
- Lake Michigan fish running the north-west tributaries from autumn into spring.
- Brown trout
- The Brookville tailwater holds them over, and they reach a decent size.
- Rainbow trout
- Stocked into small streams and lakes across the state.
- Chinook and coho salmon
- Autumn runs into the Lake Michigan tributaries, ahead of the steelhead.
- Smallmouth bass
- The Tippecanoe, the Sugar and the Blue. Arguably the best fly fishing in Indiana.
Where to fly fish in Indiana
- Trail Creek
- Michigan City. Small, close and the most fished steelhead water in the state.
- St. Joseph River
- South Bend. A fish ladder, a long run of water, and the biggest fish of the year.
- Little Calumet River
- Steelhead through the dune country, with public access along much of it.
- East Fork Whitewater
- Below Brookville Lake. Cold releases and holdover brown trout in southern Indiana.
- Tippecanoe River
- Not trout. One of the most biologically diverse rivers in the Midwest and full of smallmouth.
- Sugar Creek
- Through Turkey Run. Smallmouth, canoes, and a good summer day.
When to fly fish in Indiana
| When | What is happening |
|---|---|
| October – November | Salmon first, then the first steelhead on autumn rain. The best weeks for a fresh fish. |
| December – February | Cold and slow. Fish deep and small, and go when a thaw colours the water. |
| March – April | The spring steelhead run, and the best numbers of the year. |
| May – June | Steelhead gone. Brookville fishing well, and smallmouth season beginning. |
| July – September | Smallmouth on the inland rivers, and the tailwater below Brookville holding cold. |
Do you need a license to fly fish in Indiana?
Yes. Licenses are issued by Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
| License | Price |
|---|---|
| Resident, annual | $34 |
| Non-resident, annual | $71 |
The totals are the annual fishing licence plus the $11 trout and salmon stamp — $23 for residents and $60 for non-residents. Licences run 1 April to 31 March. Buying online adds a $3 technology fee; buying in person adds $1. Prices change — check with the agency before you buy.
Rules worth knowing before you go
- A fishing licence is required from age 18, and a trout and salmon stamp is required in addition to fish for or possess trout and salmon.
- Annual licences and stamps run 1 April to 31 March, not a year from purchase.
- Lake Michigan tributaries carry their own seasons, limits and in some cases gear restrictions, separate from the inland rules.
- Several steelhead streams run through public parks and preserves with their own access hours.
- Rules are set in the annual fishing guide and differ between the Lake Michigan tributaries and inland water.
Regulations change every year and vary water by water. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources rule book is the only authority — this page is a starting point, not a legal reference.
Flies that matter in Indiana
Each of these is a card in the deck, and each has a full page in Our Fly-brary.
Keep reading
- Do I need a fishing license? — how licensing works across states
- How to read water — where trout hold, anywhere
- Best time of day to fly fish — the seasonal logic behind the table above
- Our Fly-brary — every fly in the deck, explained
Fly fishing in Idaho Fly fishing in Pennsylvania Fly fishing in Montana Fly fishing in Colorado Fly fishing in Michigan Fly fishing in Wyoming Fly fishing in Utah Fly fishing in Oregon Fly fishing in New York Fly fishing in North Carolina Fly fishing in California Fly fishing in Washington Fly fishing in Wisconsin Fly fishing in Arkansas Fly fishing in New Mexico Fly fishing in Tennessee Fly fishing in Vermont Fly fishing in Maine Fly fishing in Virginia Fly fishing in Alaska Fly fishing in Arizona Fly fishing in Missouri Fly fishing in Georgia Fly fishing in Minnesota Fly fishing in Nevada Fly fishing in Ohio Fly fishing in Maryland Fly fishing in Connecticut Fly fishing in Texas Fly fishing in New Hampshire Fly fishing in Massachusetts Fly fishing in Kentucky Fly fishing in South Carolina Fly fishing in South Dakota Fly fishing in Oklahoma Fly fishing in West Virginia Fly fishing in New Jersey Fly fishing in Iowa Fly fishing in Alabama Fly fishing in Illinois Fly fishing in Nebraska Fly fishing in Kansas Fly fishing in Rhode Island Fly fishing in Delaware Fly fishing in North Dakota Fly fishing in Louisiana Fly fishing in Mississippi Fly fishing in Florida Fly fishing in Hawaii
The deck
54 flies, drawn by hand, in your jacket pocket.
A 54-card fly-fishing deck of original hand-drawn flies, each explaining what it imitates. Made by a father-and-daughter team in Eagle, Idaho.
Order now (opens our Shopify store in a new tab) See the deck