Center Lake Fishing in Kosciusko County, Indiana

• Overview

  Center Lake is one of the Kosciusko County waters in Indiana. The land about it is rolling bush. It runs to roughly 127 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. A shoreline of some 1.8 miles keeps the choices simple. The town to know is Warsaw, 0.6 miles out. South Bend sits 37 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Center Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Fish documented in Kosciusko County include bluegill, yellow perch, largemouth bass, logperch and longear sunfish. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The shape of Center Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 73°F in July and bottom out at 23°F in January. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. After mid March the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice usually gives way near mid March, and forms again about late December. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Center Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is a launch about half a mile from the bank. Parking is close: a car park sits half a mile from the bank. A jetty or pier is mapped about half a mile from here. Toilets show in mapping about half a mile away. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Failing this one, try Pike Lake, 0.7 miles away.