On Saturday, Crappie USA held a crappie tournament on Indiana’s Mississinewa and Salamonie Lakes. Anglers enjoyed great weather and ideal conditions, with the morning cloudy, light winds and 69 degrees. Afternoon conditions brought 85 degrees, sun and light winds.

Water conditions were greatly varied, with Mississinewa waters clear and at summer pool while Salamonie water level was 18 feet over summer pool and muddy.

Taking first place in the semi-pro division was the Indianapolis team of Don and Herschel Licht, with a weight of 5.78 pounds beating out the second place team by only 0.01 pound to earn $1,000. Don and Herschel were fishing Salamonie past the bridge fast trolling the edge of brush and weeds in 3-4 feet of water, using a double rig with a Road Runner tipped with minnows and a straight shiner rig.

Second place went to the Anderson, Ind., team of Myron Etchison and Randy Marsh, weighing in a close 5.77 pounds and earning $600. Myron and Randy were also fishing Salamonie, spider rigging black/chartreuse Southern Pro tubes around Monument Island in 20 feet of water with their fish holding 5-6 feet deep in the morning and 8-9 feet deep in the afternoon.

In all, this team caught between 75-100 fish to come up with seven keepers to weigh in. The team also received a check for $250 for the Ranger Cup Award.
Ron and Connie Gooding of Hamilton, Ill., came in third with 5.31 pounds and earning $400. Ron and Connie were fishing Salamonie around Monument Island in 8-12 feet of water, with their catch holding 6-7 feet deep. The team was using jigs with four-inch shiners, catching a total of 50-60 fish for the day.
First place in the amateur division was the three-person team of Dax and Alex Harnon along with David Eastman from Anderson, with a weight of 6.84 pounds and earning $750. Dax, Alex and David were fishing Salamonie tight lining pink Charlie Brewer Sliders tipped with minnows in 20 feet of water, catching their fish in 11-12 feet of water. The team caught between 60-70 fish for the day.
Second place went to the St. Marys, Ohio, team of Deb and Dave Gregory with a weight of 6.19 pounds and earning $500. Deb and Dave were fishing Mississinewa using Southern Pro jigs tipped with large shiners slow trolling in 19-20 feet of water, catching around 40 fish close to the bottom.

Taking third place was the Bloomington, Ind., team of Joe McWhorter and Bill Egan, weighing in 5.67 pounds and earning $300. Joe and Bill were single pole tight lining Salamonie in 15-17 feet of water, using shiners to catch nearly 100 fish for the day.

In fourth was the Wabash, Ind., team of Daniel Paul and Rollin McCoart, with a weight of 5.63 pounds and earning $200. Daniel and Rollin were fishing by the dam on Salamonie in 15-17 feet of water, with their fish holding in 10-12 feet of water using Southern Pro tubes tipped with minnows, vertical jigging tree tops, to catch 200 fish for the day.

Fifth place went to the Anderson team of Ron Bilbrey and Don Mandrell, with a weight of 5.5 pounds and earning $150. Ron and Don were vertical trolling on Salamonie using green/chartreuse jigs tipped with minnows in 22 feet of water, with their fish holding in 16 feet of water to catch 50-60 fish for the day.
Taking the big fish of the event was the team of Jim Raymer of Noblesville and Bob Raymer of Greenfield, Ind., with a 1.61-pound crappie and earning $175. Second place in the big fish contest was the team of Dax and Alex and David Eastman with a 1.59-pound crappie and earning $75.

Boat restrictions lifted on northern lakes

Boating restrictions previously established on several northern Indiana lakes because of high water levels have been lifted, allowing normal use of motorized watercraft to resume. The affected bodies of water are:

•Barbee Chain in Kosciusko County, including Banning, Big Barbee, Little Barbee, Irish, Kuhn, Sawmill and Sechrist lakes

•Tippecanoe Chain in Kosciusko County, including Tippecanoe, James (Little Tippy) and Oswego lakes

•Indian Lake Chain in LaGrange County, including Dallas, Hackenberg, Messick, Westler and Witmer lakes

•West Lakes Chain in Noble County, including Jones, Steinbarger, Tamarack and Waldron lakes

The Department of Natural Resources had issued an emergency order May 31 prohibiting the operation of motorized watercraft greater than idle speed on the Barbee and Tippecanoe chains, and banned all motorized boating traffic on the Indian Lake chain. A ban on all motorized boating traffic had been in place for the West Lakes Chain since May 27.

Archery lessons at Patoka Lake

Meet the naturalist and other certified archery instructors at the Patoka Lake Archery Range for a beginners’ archery lesson on July 2 from 8-11 a.m. The event is an introduction to the sport and is open to all ages.
Participation is limited to the first 20 registrants, or to the first 20 to arrive if the event is not full by that day. Pre-register by calling the Patoka Lake Visitor Center at 812-685-2447 or the Patoka Lake Property Office at 812-685-2464.
All archery equipment will be provided at the event. Bring family and friends, snacks, refreshments and sunscreen for the three-hour program.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Jack Spaulding may contact him by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.