Lafayette IN

[tilt987]

Where is a good place to crappie fish around Lafayette In or north of lafayette IN Thanks tilt987

[zappaf19]

I crappie fish Lake Freeman and Shafer. I live 3 miles from Lake Shafer and Lake freeman. Freeman has a dnr ramp in town which is free. Shafer does not. I fished into nov this year and got BIG gills with b moths but crappie I had to use a 1 1/2 tube which was red and white or silver and black. I would throw the tube along a pier and crank it in slow letting it bump along the bottom. I was hopeing to go more but my steering cable broke and I am saving up for a new one. The weather has been near 50 and to have a boat with no steering in those temps are driviing nuts! The drive time is about 40 to 45 mins.from where you are. Anymore question like directions or such let me know.
Bill

[tilt987]

thank zappaf19 for info. I do not have a boat yet but i am looking. wife thank we need a house first. I do not know what she thinking. I hope to have a boat bye spring. We just moved back to monticello. I have fished lake freeman a lot in the past and have ice fished on shafer a little. But never in open water.I siver fish in the sping. But I want to start crappie fishing .I fished a pound last fall and got hooked on crappie. I have to learn the lakes again thank tilt987

[zappaf19]

I live on 39 north tword Buffalo. I trolled for silvers this fall and did pretty well. I know some piers on shafer that I seem to catch Crappies and big gills. I don't know when the ramps open on shafer but I bet the ramp on Freeman is open.
When I get my steering fixed maybe we can go fishing!
Bill

[crappie66]

I attened Purdue University and did a lot of crappie fishing in and around the Lafayette area, my last semester I believe I did more fishing than attending class and doing hw.

The Fairfield Lakes yield good numbers of crappie in the spring, around the spawn time, roommate and I have on a few occassions caught well more than our limits. I always had my best luck in the smallest of the lakes, the one that is across the road from the Wildcat Creek public parking area.

I have caught a lot of crappie below the Oakdale Dam, on the side that doesn't have the swift current. Just jigging over the side of the dam, not sure if you can still walk along the concrete dam, and you definately don't want to do it after it has rained. If you are out there fishing, and the horns sound, you better get out of there within a couple minutes, because the water starts flowing and the level rises fast. We had the water rise up about 2 feet in a matter of about 5 minutes after a downpour. We usually park near that bridge, and walk the trails back to the dam, then wade across the river, but once the water level rises and current picks up its a chore wading and swimming back across with your hands full of gear. You will catch LM, SM, white bass, wipers, flathead, channel cats, walleye, or should I just say you never know what you will catch there, but you will always catch a mess.

The oxbow lakes off of the Wabash right near the Purdue campus have yielded many crappie for us. The biggest crappie of all the places we fished in Lafayette have come from these lakes. They are the lakes accessed from Williamsburg on the Wabash apartments. The back lake not seen from the road is the one we caught most of our nicer fish. The lake at the 231 (river road exit) has produced good catches and have had a few break offs, fishing spinner baits, not sure what they were, but I know it was heart breaking fighting a fish for several minutes and to never see what it was.

The Purdue powerplant pond has some crappie in it, you have to be stealthy to fish in there now. Prior to 9/11 nobody said a thing, after that we were ran off so many times, just depends on who is around, some people don't care if we fish there, others run us off. I have no idea who really is in charge, but we usually just leave when told to, and return another day.

The Tippecanoe River has crappie in it, my roommates gf's family had a cottage on the river, so we fished there occassionally. We caught decent crappie and walleye, but not in numbers.

[tilt987]

Thanks for the info. Down at the Oakdale Dam. Was you on the west or east side. I fished the west side for walleyes, but never for crappie. New to this game. I have herd about the pond behind the apparments, but have never fished there. I dont think I have ever herd of oxbow or Farifeld lakes. I work in Layette. Hey there is a couple out past Daton Old Stone Corey, i havent fished it in a long long time. It had really nice gills in it. thanks tilt987 P.S. dont forget the net.:D

[zappaf19]

Frankfort has 2 good size ponds that Delmonti use to own. They are stocked with cats, crappie and gills. The ponds do get real crowded tho.
Bill