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On the water with...Dwayne E. Cooper |
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Table of Contents Learning to find water on my own Information on the 99' fishkill on the White River Have fun...but don't get your feet wet!
7 1/2 pounder caught on a red culprit worm in the middle of a small channel on Lake Monroe
This main lake cove has laydowns galore!
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Home - On the water with Dwayne Cooper
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A young student on Lake Monroe...At 18, I first started guiding on Lake Monroe in Indiana during my summers while I was a student at Indiana University. Lake Monroe is the state's largest reservoir and is a popular lake in large part because it is located in the heart of the state within a short drive for many fisherman. Although the lake is managed for flood control and the numbers of bass suffers as a result of unpredictable spawning seasons, I caught quite a few large fish (over 6 pounds) during those years. Despite it's poor productivity, it has always been one of the better lakes in the state to catch a lunker bass... Back then, Monroe was a great place to fish for bluegill and crappie. I spent quite a few days enjoying the great panfishing on this lake for nice-sized bluegill and good numbers of small crappie. Amazingly, few people seem to realize that panfishing is this lake's strongest asset. The lake also held a good population of healthy catfish and wipers. Many days, I would chase schools of 2 to 8 pound wipers around the lake. The catfish always came as a surprise because I never intentionally fished for them on this lake. I remember catching a 15 pound flathead catfish on a jigging spoon in 40 foot of water and a nice 8 pound channel on a Zara Spook in 2 foot of water! Always searching for new bass hangouts in likely-looking areas, I would often fail to find what I was looking for (bass), only to catch a nice catfish or two while working the many deep channels or ledges on the lake. The lake also has a few walleye and smallmouth in it...although these fish are fairly harder to find. Back in my schoolyears, during the summer, I practically lived on the lake. I usually camped at the local campground and only pulled my boat in at the end of the day to gas it up and charge the batteries. Even during the spring and fall seasons, I managed to always find time to sneak off from my studies for several hours at a time to learn more about the lake. When I graduated from IU, my diploma said that I earned a double major in history and political science...but I know that I learned much more than that...especially at Lake Monroe... |
Some of my Top 10 favorite semi-public Indiana lakes and rivers... 1. Ohio River 2. West Boggs Lake 3. White River 4. Glendale/Dogwood 5. Glenn Flynt 6. Patoka Lake 7. Lake Monroe 8. Turtle Creek 9. Wawasee 10. (tie) Geist 10. (tie) Cataract Lake
This wiper ate up this Pop-R on a main lake point
This walleye was caught on a black/silver twitch bait on rock in the middle of a main lake cove |
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