Bower Lake in Steuben County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Steuben County entry here is Bower Lake, in Indiana. Country round the bank runs to rolling bush. It runs to roughly 26 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Indiana listings. Angola is the closest town at 3.8 miles. Hamilton lies 8.7 miles off, Fremont another 11 miles. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Bower Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Reported across Steuben County: bluegill, yellow perch and largemouth bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Bower Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 22°F and July at about 71°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late March. Break-up near late March, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Plan any trip to Bower Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. A boat ramp sits half a mile away, so trailered boats can get on. Parking is close: a car park sits half a mile from the bank. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Golden Lake at 0.5 miles is the sensible second choice. The position on Bower Lake is worth confirming on the day.