Spear Lake in Noble County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Spear Lake sits in Noble County, out in Indiana. Country round the bank runs to mixed forest. Roughly 36 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Supplies mean a trip to North Webster, 2.6 miles off. The big place round here is Fort Wayne, 32 miles distant. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water. It rewards a look round before the first cast.

• Where to Fish on Spear Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Noble County cover bluegill, largemouth bass, warmouth, pumpkinseed and logperch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Take Spear Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 22°F to 72°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Ice-out usually falls in late March, and the weeks after it fish hardest. On average, late March opens the water and late December closes it again. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Spear Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. You can leave the car about half a mile from the water. Public data records a pier about half a mile out. A recognised fishing place sits half a mile away. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Barel-and-a-Half Lake, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for Spear Lake.