Fishing Goose Creek in Wabash County, Indiana

• Overview

  In Indiana, Goose Creek falls inside Wabash County. It sits in lake country bush. Mount Vernon at 2.5 miles is the nearest place to stop. Converse follows at 7 miles, then Wabash at 8.6 miles. Not far off: Mississinewa Lake 1 mile, Rock Run (1.3 miles), Red Bridge Marina 1.4 miles, Lake Niconzah (1.9 miles) and Spot 10 4.2 miles. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Goose Creek

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. After rain the colour clears from the surface first, so fish the edges. Log jams gather bait and everything that eats it. Survey and observation records for Wabash County include smallmouth bass, johnny darter, longear sunfish, rainbow darter and green sunfish. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Goose Creek the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 73°F on average, January about 24°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. The quiet pools cap over in winter, the riffles never quite do, and mid March clears the lot. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid March in spring and again near late December in autumn. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It sets the rhythm of the year at Goose Creek.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. There is recorded parking some half a mile off. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Mississinewa Lake at 1 mile is the sensible second choice. The position on Goose Creek is worth confirming on the day.