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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!
My wife Kathy showing off a nice smallmouth and largemouth that we caught back to back on the White River in downtown Indianapolis
This nice smallmouth fell for a firetiger crankbait.
Kathy shows off a a 5 pound smallmouth bass she caught on a rattle-trap in downtown Indianapolis
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White River...Ever since 1987, the White River has often been a fishery of dreams... It was during the late 80's, that I had many days on the White River where I caught and released hundreds of bass (both largemouth and smallmouth) in a mere 4 to 6 hours of time... The fishing was often fast and furious! And the hotter the temperature got...the hotter the action became. Because the fishing was so good, I usually threw fast-moving crankbaits. Hot chartreuse, firetiger and natural colors, like baby-bass, were the hot colors. Rattle-traps were outstanding. Spinnerbaits produced good quality largemouth. Worms were extremely reliable. It was a great time to experiment with different lures and techniques. While the river has aways had a lot of 12 inch fish in it, the river has had a respectable number of nice size fish in it too. Over the course of my years on the river, I have been fortunate enough to land over 25 smallmouth over 4 pounds from the White river... There are several good pools to fish on the White River and I often alternated between the naval armory pool (Lake Indy at 19th Street) and the Broad Ripple pool (from 64th Street to 82nd Street). Without a doubt, the naval armory section has always been my favorite because of some of the large bronzebacks that I have caught from the huge boulders, rock and trees that lie in the river. My biggest smallmouth came in the mid-90's on a chartreuse crankbait and weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces! It was an incredible day as I caught a 5 pound smallmouth and a 5 1/4 pound smallmouth that absolutely ravaged my chartreuse spinnerbait! But the thing I remember the most...was the one that got away...because the day I caught the 6 pounder, I fought and lost a battle against a smallmouth that I know would have topped 7 pounds! I firmly believe that the White River has the potential to hold the next record Indiana smallmouth bass... The fact that it has been a great fishery...I think is really only a testament to the river's own rugged ability to deal with it's environment. It is not a secret that the White River does not get the respect it so dearly deserves. The river used to be a "regular" dumping ground of raw sewage every time Anderson and Muncie received a heavy rain in the springtime. And today, in the year 2000, the antiquated Indianapolis sewer system still allows raw sewage to go straight into the river after the city receives heavy rains in the springtime. Thankfully, in many places, the White River has a hard bottom that enables it to often wash the foreign substances down to the next section of the river until it finds its way into the muddy Wabash and then into the Ohio River. Very much like a toilet bowl, the White River has recently fared well just as long as it has been flushed regularly... There have always been healthy populations of bluegill and catfish in the White river. Crappie can be caught...but their numbers are smaller than what you might expect. The Broad Ripple pool of the river has quite a few spotted bass in it and I have caught good numbers of these short fat fish on the river as late as mid-December. There are usually two times that the fishing on the White river really turns off - nightime and after a hard rain. While I've had success on many other rivers in these conditions...for some reason the bass on the White River just seem to shut off at night. And I suspect that the the bass on the White River are smart enough to have learned to hunker down to structure and not feed in post heavy-rain conditions due to the run-off pollution problems during such conditions. Notwithstanding the many obstacles this fishery faces, the White River has earned the title of Indiana's best fishery for smallmouth! |
The 10 coolest animals I have seen while fishing... 1. Mountain Lion 2. Bald Eagle 3. Fox 4. Raccoon 5. Deer 6. Alligator 7. Beaver 8. Blue Heron 9. Mink 10. Coyote
This is a nice 5 pound largemouth bass caught on the White River in downtown Indianapolis
I caught this 4 pound plus smallmouth bass on a crankbait.
Another nice 4 pound plus smallmouth bass caught after a hot sweaty day on the White River in downtown Indianapolis
Kathy shows off a a 4 pound largemouth bass she caught while flipping a worm on the White River.
Another big fish caught on the White River in downtown Indianapolis
This nice smallie fell for a crankbait.
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