This Indiana River Is Perfect For Fly Fishing

When it comes to destinations in the American Midwest, don't sleep on Indiana. While neighboring Michigan may have national parks full of sand-dune surfing, shipwreck tours, and scenic trails, the Hoosier State has its own hidden gems, like these islands boasting sun-drenched shores and lush wildlife. The fact that Indiana is an under-the-radar destination is one more reason to consider it, especially if you're a fan of hiking, biking, kayaking, camping, and fishing. 

The Midwest is famous for its angling opportunities, where fishers most often throw bait and lures in hopes of hooking into famed local species such as walleye and muskellunge. People also head out onto frozen lakes in the midst of winter to try their hand at ice fishing, which for many is a deep-seated regional tradition. You may, however, be surprised to learn that there is also quite a lot of fly-fishing to be done in the Midwest, and Indiana is no exception. This is especially true on the St. Joseph River, which, in addition to holding large populations of smallmouth bass, is also a habitat for trout, Coho and Chinook salmon. You'll also find steelhead, the sea-run (or in this case, lake-run) trout that's one of the most prized targets for fly fishers. 

Running for 210 miles, the Joseph River spends most of its time in Michigan before swinging through northern Indiana for 42 miles of its flow. It eventually empties into Lake Michigan, which is one of the reasons it's such a good fishing river. Connecting with the lake allows salmon and steelhead to swim up its waters to spawn, making it a proper fly-fishing stream.

The St. Joseph River has garnered a reputation as a fly-fishing mecca because it's absolutely packed with fish. The state stocks over 40,000 Coho salmon and 200,000 steelhead in the river each year, which means it's not hard to find what you're after, provided you come at the right time. Steelhead shoot up the river in the winter and early spring, though it's the summer run of Skamania steelhead — which can reach up to 20 pounds — that really gets people excited. Salmon run in the fall. Cohos range from 5 to 8 pounds, while Chinook can tip the scale at around 12 pounds. You can entice smallmouth bass to take a fly from late May all the way into October, and there's plenty of summer action with gar, pike, and musky, who hunt the St. Joseph for juvenile salmon and steelhead.

The St. Joseph is a large river with a strong current, which makes it difficult to wade in. That said, there are four dams on the Indiana stretch (with ladders for the fish) that make it easier to fish, especially from a boat. There are also plenty of opportunities for angling from the bank, though fly fishers must make sure there is enough space for their backcast.

If you're after steelhead, a floating line with dry flies, big prawn patterns, and terrestrials can be effective in the summer, while a sinking tip with stoneflies is best in the colder months, along with big, dark-colored marabou patterns. Salmon tend to get most aggressive with brightly-colored streamers, and smallmouths will hit a variety of flies ranging from poppers to crawdad imitations.