The first few years of Patoka was a learning experience for DNR..they didn't let anybody fish the lake for 3 yrs after it was stocked. I got on it the 3rd yr. with DNR... boating the lake and just taking it all in looking,,,it was so gin clear,,you could look down 20-30ft..and see fish like there was no tomorrow everywhere. One place that I will always remember, was a muliti flora rose fence row, going from the swimming beach to the center of the 2 islands and straight across, running north to south,,and that fence row, had thousands of fish in it of all sizes. Absolutely stunning. You can still catch fish out of that fence row in a few spots, to mention it and other things we saw. Same went for Truman Res. in MO. I fished it the first year it opened and a few years afterwards too. All bass tourneys then, and it was so awesome to fish it being a new Res. I have fished a lot of lakes and Res. all over the US and those 2 will always have left an impression on me never to forget as 2 of my favorites.
Sorry about wordy,,but lots of history surround our lakes in Indiana and the growth of our meager sport fisheries compared to other states. What Indiana lacks is big lakes and more water to fresh water fish. Last big lake project, that I worked on, with Sen. Dick Lugar and DNR was the 16 or so locks and dams that would have been made on the Wabash River. Got defeated when Congress wouldn't approve the funds. Illinois and Indiana would have had one heck of a long series of lakes if it had.


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