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  1. #1
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    How come Mississinewa isn't a bass paradise????

    I mean, there are so many gizzard shad on that lake right now, there must be millions of them.... driving over the Summerset bridge and you can spot the dark clouds swimming near the surface, it's ridiculous. I'm sure a ton of them die in the winter but, a ton must survive for them to spawn like that again year after year.

    That reservoir has everything in theory, depth, ledges, shallow flats, timber, rock, man made structure. It doesn't have much grass and there's quite a bit of carp, but it's regular carp not the silvers. And it's obvious there's plenty forage.

    Yet i always struggle catching bass on that lake. I catch a few dinks but never anything decent, very few bites normally.

    I just really don't get it.

  2. Go Cubs Go cubswin's Avatar
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    #2
    Mostly because it is drawn down so far every year in my opinion and lack of cover. There is zero grass, and the wood is getting less and less every year.

    It was better when there was more timber, and it was really good numbers lake when it was down for 5 years and all the brush grew up. Before that it was a pretty good smallmouth lake, now it is really rare to catch one.

    Salamonie is the exact same way.

    I also think it is a better bass lake when the white bass numbers are higher and they control the shad more. They haven't been high in 5 or 6 years. There are some decent bass, but they spread out and finding them can be a challenge right now. The last two years have been very tough for sure.

    Last tournament I think there were 3 limits weighed in, know I only had 4. I do believe if I had stayed in the area I started I could have caught a limit and probably of culled. Poor decision on my part.
    Last edited by cubswin; 09-17-2020 at 10:11 PM.
    "It's even, but it ain't settled. Let's settle it." Fast Eddie
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  3. Member
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    #3
    I have fished it my whole life and think the biggest downfall is the winter drawdown. They drop it from 737 to 712 every winter. 25 feet every year like flushing the toilet. There’s a lot of areas completely dry in winter with hardly anything but a creek channel. The lake has also changed drastically since the record flood. The lake crested a record 50 feet high and was held at that level for months. The result now being the lake property lost the majority of its old majestic hard woods. The loss of trees have created a much higher rate of erosion in lots of areas. It’s sad because as you state,it has so much potential. I’ve enquired with lots of really good local fishermen as to the disappearance of the smallmouth. The lake was incredible smallmouth fishery for years but no one really knows the disappearance of them. If you research the river, it’s still very good for very nice smallmouth. We have caught a tremendous amount of 12-15 largemouth this year that are very healthy. I think things might possibly be on the upswing depending on flooding and environmental issues.

  4. idbefishing
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    #4
    Raccoon gets drawn down for winter also but it doesn’t suck as bad

  5. Indiana Bass Club Moderator billius's Avatar
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    #5
    I'm sure the draw down has to effect the fishing, but Missy used to be a really good lake. I was catching a lot of bass there, including smallies up until about 6 years ago. It seems like its just gone down hill since then. I have no real explanation, but I think there is some other factor in addition to the draw down.
    Bill Gard
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  6. Go Cubs Go cubswin's Avatar
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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by billius View Post
    I'm sure the draw down has to effect the fishing, but Missy used to be a really good lake. I was catching a lot of bass there, including smallies up until about 6 years ago. It seems like its just gone down hill since then. I have no real explanation, but I think there is some other factor in addition to the draw down.
    That was about the time of a big flood, and then a massive amount of water being drawn thru the system. I do know both salamonie and missy have been bad the last few years. Where it used to take about 12lbs to win a tournament now it is 10lbs or less.

    There are days when missy is still pretty good, but I think the amount of 14"+ fish is at a real low right now. The ones you catch are often very fat and healthy in the 13" variety. Lot of small bass this year, so hopefully in 2 years it will be decent again.

    Hopefully the smallies start showing up again, can't remember when the last one showed up at a tournament weigh in, might have been one my former partner caught 3 years ago.
    "It's even, but it ain't settled. Let's settle it." Fast Eddie
    I still can't believe they actually won...Cubs Fans Everywhere

  7. Member
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    #7
    Quote Originally Posted by billius View Post
    I'm sure the draw down has to effect the fishing, but Missy used to be a really good lake. I was catching a lot of bass there, including smallies up until about 6 years ago. It seems like its just gone down hill since then. I have no real explanation, but I think there is some other factor in addition to the draw down.
    True. Several years of high water in the spring. Especially during planting season and spawn event. There are times you can smell the farm chemicals in the water and on your fishing gear. Crappie guys love to tell me about the bass the catch on live bait. A friend of mine lives below the dam and reports in the past several years, the numbers and size of the L M caught have increased greatly. I have fished there since 1967. I caught one 10" sm last year. Years ago Les Whitacure won a wed nite T with 22# all S M. Another wed nite the top 5 had over 20# mixed bags. True the lake has massive amounts of bait fish. I expect to see more of the same this year. Too bad! !

  8. Member
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    #8
    Ive fished it heavily for the last 40 years. Joe is right about the low winning weights. I won 1 circuit tourney there about in 08 with 5 pounds even with 5 fish. Yeah just squeakers. Pulling the plug in the fall dosent help. Each spring they leave the water high until the bass spawn, then they will drop it to summer pool, and the eggs are racoon & bird food.. Then the carp move up to spawn after the draw down, now you know why so many carp.. The lack of good spawning areas has always been a major problem. In the fall after draw down, the shore anglers burn all the cover up (that has grown) to stay warm. The lake also silts in very heavily. So there you go, Add all of these up and you have difficult fishing.

    Back in the 80s, several local clubs went to the dnr asking to put in spawning areas. Rich, a local contractor was going to supply the bulldozers, backhoe and man power. He just asked that the dnr supply the fuel. There answer, we cant afford the fuel. Joe might have heard of that. They also said we dont have the man power, they asked dnr how many bass clubs would you like up here. So it never happened. If the Corps and the DnR would work together, Missy would be some of the best fishing in the Northern half of the state. Corps wont do that because their job only is flood control.

  9. Member
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    #9
    Quote Originally Posted by idbefishing View Post
    Raccoon gets drawn down for winter also but it doesn’t suck as bad
    right almost dry north of 36

  10. Member jc1234's Avatar
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    #10
    I know in 2003 or 2004 the Corps was repairing the dam. They were keeping the water very low while they were during repairs, but they kept having major rain events and the reservoir would fill up. Then over the next 2 weeks they would drop the water quickly back to winter pool. I always wondered if this had a detriment to the fishing.

    And yes, the Corps doesn't care about fishing in Indiana. They are only concerned about preventing floods.
    The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer up someone else.

  11. Member
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    #11
    Quote Originally Posted by brushsjigs View Post
    .... Pulling the plug in the fall doesn't help. Each spring they leave the water high until the bass spawn, then they will drop it to summer pool, and the eggs are racoon & bird food.. Then the carp move up to spawn after the draw down, now you know why so many carp.. The lack of good spawning areas has always been a major problem. In the fall after draw down, the shore anglers burn all the cover up (that has grown) to stay warm. The lake also silts in very heavily. So there you go, Add all of these up and you have difficult fishing.
    .
    If we see this, then the DNR has got to see it. Does the collateral damage of flood control in the Midwest always have to be the destruction of game fish habitat?
    Last edited by BackLash625; 02-05-2021 at 04:36 PM.
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  12. Go Cubs Go cubswin's Avatar
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    #12
    Quote Originally Posted by jc1234 View Post
    I know in 2003 or 2004 the Corps was repairing the dam. They were keeping the water very low while they were during repairs, but they kept having major rain events and the reservoir would fill up. Then over the next 2 weeks they would drop the water quickly back to winter pool. I always wondered if this had a detriment to the fishing.

    And yes, the Corps doesn't care about fishing in Indiana. They are only concerned about preventing floods.
    Fishing was good while it was down, was insane after it came back up to normal pool with all the brush. 100 fish days were very possible for the following 2 years until the brush started breaking up.

    It was tough to catch a 14" fish, but not like last year. I really think that huge flood in 2015, and that 6000+ cfs release at missy and 4000+ cfs at salamonie caused a lot of pass thru of fish into the river.

    Know at salamonie they cranked it up higher than ever before, and when they did it the first time they thought they broke the spillway. Turned out it was a big limestone rock that went flying up in the air instead of concrete.
    "It's even, but it ain't settled. Let's settle it." Fast Eddie
    I still can't believe they actually won...Cubs Fans Everywhere

  13. Member foulhook3's Avatar
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    #13
    I think we are all forgetting the most important variable relative to poor Mississinewa bass fishing - the water is located in Indiana.

  14. Member
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    #14
    Quote Originally Posted by foulhook3 View Post
    I think we are all forgetting the most important variable relative to poor Mississinewa bass fishing - the water is located in Indiana.
    I'm sure the state looks at it from the perspective that it's a flood control facility that just happens to have fish in it. The kind or species of fish is irrelevant as long as it isn't invasive.
    "Absence of Evidence does not mean Evidence of Absence."
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    #15
    I know this is an old post but I just wanted to say that I think we'll start getting some answers beginning this year. Recently I started The Mississinewa River Conservation Group on Facebook and through this effort it has put me in contact with various sources at both the state and Federal level, including regional biologist and Corps of Engineers. Thus far they have extremely helpful in offering me direction and also informing of several things that are going on behind the scenes, most of this I try to pass along to the group.

    My main interest in all of this is the smallmouth bass and while the group was originally created with the hope of protecting the excellent smallmouth fishing in the river it has now also expanded to the lake. There is a curious event taking place that needs studied and examined, this having to do with both the noticeably improved quantity and quality of the river population VS that of the lake, since those river fish have to arrive from the lake region each summer because the river simply can't support them through the winter. So why is the smallmouth fishing so sparse in the lake? This is something that we're going to start exploring this next year. There are also tentative plans to start a review of the river yet this winter. As for the lake, I've been walking it during winter draw down taking pictures and making notes on a wide variety of features, both good and bad.

    I can also tell you that multiple proposals are also being looked into and considered, some of which I'm sure will actually surprise most everyone. The bottom line here is that the state and the corps really do want to improve the fishing in the lake and they are open to any and all suggestions. At least this has been my experience.

    Beginning next year I plan to be on the lake from about June through Mid-September with only one goal, to find and catch some 18-20", or larger, smallmouth from the lake. And also to try to nail down just exactly what might be taking place between that lake & river relationship? And also to try to locate "quantities of smallmouth" in the lake somewhere. That's all I'll be doing next year, this information then being collected and passed along. So you're all invited to join the group. Right now it's still very small but I suspect as more and more information starts being shared that these numbers will improve. At least that is my hope, and my goal being to get something going that might actually help to improve things in the lake and to protect the fishery in the river. But it's going to take time, that's for sure.

  16. idbefishing
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    That's great to hear and thanks for your efforts. Is there a boat ramp somewhere in the actual river that one can launch a jet boat?

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    #17
    Curious who actually has controll now, the State or the Corp. Of Engineers, or both since the change years ago to require an anual user permit displayed on boat. Maybe was there & I didn't know it back then . Know it used to be just the Corp. Of Egineers in the 80's as my uncle as a Indiana Federation director was involved in
    meetings to try to come up with a solution to improve the fishing. Corp ALWAYS held fast to " These are flood controllers lakes first & foremost " & really did not want to listen to anyone. I applaud those who are trying to get this fixed & wish you good luck. Hopefully something good will come from your efforts.

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    #18
    Quote Originally Posted by idbefishing View Post
    That's great to hear and thanks for your efforts. Is there a boat ramp somewhere in the actual river that one can launch a jet boat?
    Just a couple of small boat launches. Not near enough depth. You can launch above the Marion dam.

  19. Member
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    #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Fishshooter View Post
    Curious who actually has controll now, the State or the Corp. Of Engineers, or both since the change years ago to require an anual user permit displayed on boat. Maybe was there & I didn't know it back then . Know it used to be just the Corp. Of Egineers in the 80's as my uncle as a Indiana Federation director was involved in
    meetings to try to come up with a solution to improve the fishing. Corp ALWAYS held fast to " These are flood controllers lakes first & foremost " & really did not want to listen to anyone. I applaud those who are trying to get this fixed & wish you good luck. Hopefully something good will come from your efforts.
    The Corp still has the final say but it appears that there is a different mindset now. I know they are looking at some proposals and there's even been some serious discussion about reducing the amount of winter draw-down by several feet so that the draw-down isn't so extreme. I also know that the Corps, DNR, and Biologist are making efforts to become more intertwined and involved in fishery improvement projects. So we'll see where it all might lead. But I do think the kettle is hot right now and that eventually we'll see some action.

  20. idbefishing
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    Quote Originally Posted by Last Smallmouth Hunter View Post
    Just a couple of small boat launches. Not near enough depth. You can launch above the Marion dam.
    so do y’all fish in the river with only kayak? How far up stream from the lake is the “better” fishing? Could the river fish be resident fish and don’t migrate back and forth to the lake? If they do migrate then I’d think the fishing in the lake is good in the fall/winter just like lake Shafer

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