By Jack Spaulding

 The outlook for walleye and saugeye fishing looks good for upcoming years after a total of 28.3 million walleye fry, 529,404 walleye fingerlings, and 101,800 saugeye were stocked at various locations around Indiana in the spring.

Stocking for the species is scheduled annually because they don’t reproduce naturally in most locations. Fry were stocked at the end of April, while walleye and hybrid walleye fingerlings were stocked at the end of May and in early June. Typically, walleye and hybrid walleye will reach 14 inches two years after being stocked and 16 inches after three years.

Because of success in egg collection, hatching rates for fry, and fingerling production, hatchery staff and biologists were able to fully stock all requested locations, including a few on the surplus list. “Expect good walleye fishing to continue in future years,” said Tom Bacula, DNR fisheries biologist.

The following lakes, with their counties in parentheses, were stocked as follows:

Walleye fry were stocked at Bass (Starke), Brookville (Franklin and Union), Eagle Creek (Marion), Mississinewa (Wabash), Monroe (Brown and Monroe) and Patoka (Orange, Dubois, and Crawford).

Walleye fingerlings were stocked at Cagles Mill (Owen and Putnam), Freeman (Carroll), Kokomo Reservoir (Howard), Lake of the Woods (Marshall), Pike (Kosciusko), Prairie Creek Reservoir (Delaware), Shafer (White), Summit (Henry) and Oakdale Dam on Tippecanoe River (Carroll).

Saugeye fingerlings were stocked at Glenn Flint (Putnam), Huntingburg (Dubois), Koteewi Park (Hamilton) and Sullivan (Sullivan).

The statewide bag limit for walleye, sauger and saugeye is six fish per day in combination. For walleye, the minimum size limit is 14 inches for waters south of State Road 26 and 16 inches for waters north of State Road 26. Lakes with walleye exceptions are Bass (Starke) and Wolf (Lake), where the minimum is 14 inches, Lake George (Steuben), minimum is 15 inches, and Wall (LaGrange), minimum is 16 inches with a two fish daily bag limit.

There is no size limit on saugeye (or on sauger) except on Huntingburg Lake (Dubois), Glenn Flint Lake (Putnam) and Sullivan Lake (Sullivan), where the minimum size limit is 14 inches. Ohio River has a minimum size limit of 14 inches and a six fish combination limit per day for walleye, sauger and saugeye.

Lost hikers found

Indiana Conservation Officers have located two lost hikers after a long search in the Charles C. Deam Wilderness of Hoosier National Forest.

On June 30 at 6 p.m., Monroe County received a 911 call from Jason Craig, 44, of Valparaiso. Craig was requesting help because he and his wife were hiking in the Deam Wilderness and became lost.

Search crews comprising Indiana Conservation Officers and the Monroe Fire Protection District responded and began searching the area by foot, all-terrain vehicle and boat.

Craig was located near the area of Grubb Ridge Trail, but his 36-year-old wife Hannah Daugherty was still missing. The two had separated when Daugherty became too exhausted to walk, and Craig left for help. The search for Daugherty was suspended overnight due to the steep terrain and other hazards in the area.

Crews from Indiana Conservation Officers, Hoosier Nation Forest Service and the Monroe Fire Protection District resumed the search at sunrise on July 1 and located Daugherty at 9 a.m. Both hikers were checked by EMS and released.

Shades State 75th Anniversary

Celebrate Shades State Park’s 75th anniversary on July 16 with a day of events commemorating its history and unique features.

The day’s activities include a Race the Ranger fun run at 11 a.m. for advanced hikers and 11:30 a.m. for novice hikers. Register for both at RacetherangerShadesSP.eventbrite.com.

Food trucks will be at the party beginning at noon, and from 12:30-2:30 p.m. there will be family activities, including make-and-take crafts.

At 12:30 p.m., there will be a fossil hunt hike, and from 1-2 p.m., naturalists will guide hikers on a Shades history walk.

The event is free, but the standard park entrance fees of $7 per in-state vehicle and $9 per out-of-state vehicle will apply. Shades State Park (on.IN.gov/shadessp) is at 7751 S. 890 W. Waveland, IN 47989.

Patoka Lake hosts star party

Patoka Lake will host its 31st annual star party July 30, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m., at the Patoka Lake Nature Center and 7 p.m. to approximately 10 p.m. at the Patoka Lake Beach. There will be a number of activities celebrating the sky.

Participants can make solar bead bracelets with an interpretive naturalist from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. The beads change colors with the sun, and some glow in the dark. Cost is $2 per bracelet.

From 1-4 p.m., attendees may safely view the sun through specially filtered telescopes with help from members of the Evansville Astronomical Society (EAS). At 2 p.m., the EAS will give an informational program about the sun. At 3 p.m, the EAS will give a talk titled Astronomy 101, which will cover the basics of how to look at planets, stars and galaxies.

At 7 p.m. at the beach, naturalists from O’Bannon Woods State Park will give a presentation about Indiana’s native snakes. At 8:30 p.m., members of the EAS and Louisville Astronomical Society will have telescopes set up to view the night sky and will help viewers find celestial objects.

The entrance fee of $7 per vehicle for Indiana residents and $9 for out-of-state vehicles is required for the Newton-Stewart State Recreation Area at Patoka Lake, located north of Wickliffe Indiana, Highway 164. For more information regarding the program or other interpretive events, call the Nature Center at 812-685-2447.

Patoka Lake (on.IN.gov/patokalake) is at 3084 N. Dillard Road, Birdseye, IN 47513.

Florida man drowns saving juvenile

The body of a Florida man was recovered on June 27 from Lake Michigan by lifeguards after he saved the life of a juvenile. About 10:30 a.m., responders were dispatched to Porter Beach regarding two people struggling in the water.

Thomas Kenning, 38, of St. Petersburg, Fla., was visiting with family when he observed a juvenile female in distress in Lake Michigan. Kenning reached the juvenile and helped her to safety before going under the water and not resurfacing.

A short time later, Indiana Dunes State Park lifeguards arrived on scene to assist and pulled Kenning from the water. He was transported to Northwest Health Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy will determine an exact cause.

Porter Beach is an unguarded beach and is “swim at your own risk.” Assisting agencies include Porter Fire, Chesterton Fire, Burns Harbor Fire, Northwest Health EMS, National Park Rangers, and Indiana Conservation Officers.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net. Spaulding’s books, “The Best Of Spaulding Outdoors” and “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com as a paperback or Kindle download.