 June’s Free Fishing Days
On June 1-2, celebrate Indiana’s Free Fishing Days by taking your family and friends fishing. On Free Fishing Days, Indiana residents do not need a fishing license or a trout/salmon stamp to fish the state’s public waters. All other rules such as seasons, bag limits, and size limits apply.
If you miss these two Free Fishing Days, don’t worry—Indiana will have one more Free Fishing Day in September. View the DNR Calendar to find properties hosting fishing events near you.
 Frog gigging season opens June 15
If you’re looking for an outside-of-the-box hunt, consider visiting a local pond or wetland for a frog hunt, or come to the annual frog gigging night at Goose Pond FWA June 21. Frog hunting season runs from June 15, 2024 – April 30, 2025, and hunters can harvest the American bullfrog and green frog. The bag limit is 25 frogs per day with a possession limit of 50 frogs, and any combination of bullfrogs or green frogs maybe be used to reach these bag and harvest limits.
Information on identifying these frog species can be found on our herpetology program website.
For an introduction to cooking frogs, check out our YouTube channel for a tasty Creole-style frog leg recipe.
 Tips to pack your tackle box
Packing your tackle box this summer? With so many fishing lures on the market, it can be difficult to find the perfect ones for your fishing adventures. Here are some simple and effective fishing lures to pack in your tackle box.
Hook and bobber: The simplest way to fish involves a hook and bobber—all you have to do is cast, sit back, and wait.
Inline spinner: Inline spinners come in various sizes and can be great for panfish as well as bass and musky. They are often used for trout fishing. To fish an inline spinner, cast the lure, let it sink, slowly reel it in, and wait for a fish to bite.
Jig head and plastic: Jig heads and plastics can be used to catch hybrid bass, bluegill, largemouth bass, crappie, walleye, and more species of fish. Fish a jig head by casting and retrieving or jigging.
Hollow body frogs: Hollow body frogs work well when fishing lakes with heavy vegetation because they sit on top of water. They can be used to catch largemouth bass. Cast the frog out and twitch your rod while slowly reeling it in.
Crankbait: Crankbaits can fish in various depths and work well for walleye, hybrid bass, largemouth bass, musky, and smallmouth bass. Cast the lure and reel it in.
Flier (Centrarchus macropterus).
Share your fish with Fish ID
Caught something odd while fishing? Want to help your state biologists better understand the distribution of fish in Indiana? Like sharing fish photos? Then send a photo of your unusual, unknown, or interesting catch to FishID@dnr.IN.gov, and we’ll identify it.
To submit: Orient the fish with the head to the left in the photo if possible, and provide the date and location (closest bridge, intersection, address, or landmark). Your efforts help us keep tabs on Indiana’s 200-plus fish species.
 2024-2025 migratory bird hunting seasons announced
Indiana’s migratory bird hunting seasons for 2024-2025 have been submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These seasons include those for mourning doves, waterfowl (ducks, coots, mergansers, and geese), woodcock, snipe, and sora rails.
New this year, the white-fronted goose season and bag limit are separate from other geese. The white-fronted goose season is closed during the Canada goose season segment in September, but it is open at the same time as for the other geese later in the season. The daily bag limit is two white-fronted geese.
The Canada goose daily bag limit is five Canada geese and may include brant in aggregate in any combination of the two species. The daily bag limit for light geese (snow and Ross’s geese) remains 20.
There have been no changes in duck bag limits from last year’s season. This includes the scaup daily bag limit, which is one during the first 15 days of the duck season, and two for the rest of the season.
The possession limit for all migratory birds is three times the daily bag limit, except for light geese, for which there is no possession limit.
DNR staff install a MossBack Fish Habitat structure.
Enhanced fishing opportunities at Griffy Lake
After a year of planning, Bloomington Parks and Recreation has collaborated with DNR to plan, fund, obtain permits, and install fish habitat structures in Griffy Lake in Bloomington. On April 22, the structures were installed near the five fishing bumpouts on the accessible walkway that extends a quarter mile across the causeway. The location of the Griffy Lake habitat placement can be found online on DNR’s statewide fish habitat map.
The MossBack Fish Habitat structures were purchased with grant funds provided by Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership/Friends of Reservoirs Small Project. MossBack Fish Habitat supports state and municipal fish habitat projects nationwide.
The accessible walkway and fishing bumpouts constructed near the Griffy Lake boathouse in 2022 provide safe access for anglers who wish to fish from shore and for hikers to access trails on the north and south shores of the lake. The packed-gravel walkway has one large, paved bumpout with railings that is accessible from the main roads. The other four bumpouts are smaller, with packed gravel. Access to the walkway itself is through the large bumpout.
Be sure to visit the walkway and the new structures for fishing fun!
 Largemouth bass relocation at Tri-Lakes
On May 13, DNR fisheries biologists began relocating largemouth bass on the Tri-Lakes chain. Largemouth bass less than 14 inches in length are very abundant in the chain (Round, Cedar, and Little Cedar lakes) in Whitley County. To address this, biologists are removing 1,000 bass less than 14 inches in length from the chain each year for the next five years. The bass are being relocated to J.E. Roush Lake, which has a low density of largemouth bass. DNR biologists will monitor the bass populations in both lakes for the duration of the project to determine project success and impacts on other fish populations.
Largemouth bass will be collected from Tri-Lakes via electrofishing and will be measured for length and tagged with a jaw tag before being transported to J.E. Roush Lake. The jaw tags are not harmful to the fish and will allow DNR biologists to track the growth of bass in J.E. Roush Lake as well as their abundance relative to the bass already in the lake.
Thank you DFW volunteers for supporting outdoor recreation and ecological restoration at J.C. Murphey Lake on Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife Area. Fish from J.C. Murphey Lake were overwintering at nearby waterfowl units while renovations on the lake were completed. Fish management volunteers skillfully helped move the fish from their temporary overwintering habitat back to the lake, helping with everything from the data collection to the relocation. The volunteers’ efforts will help reestablish fish breeding populations in the lake and provide spring fishing opportunities for anglers.
Come see the lake this weekend at Willow Slough FWA’s 75th Anniversary celebration! Learn more about the lake renovations and the 75th Anniversary events on the Willow Slough FWA webpage.
 Participate in research for chronic wasting disease management
Researchers at Purdue University are studying the willingness of hunters and non-hunters to reduce the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer. CWD is a fatal neurological disease affecting deer and is caused by a misfolded prion that damages the animal’s nervous system. CWD is contagious to deer and can spread through deer-to-deer contact or through contaminated environments. No cases of CWD have been recorded in humans.
Information collected may help inform Indiana DNR’s response to CWD. Participants will answer online survey questions and use a web app that shows how CWD may spread. The activity and survey questions take about 30 minutes to complete. The study is open to everyone 18 years old or older. If you have already completed the survey, you are now able to participate again. All that is required to participate is a computer or tablet. Participate in the study online.
For questions about this study, please email the research team at cwdwebapp@purdue.edu.
Please reference the following in the email: Study title - Web App Use and Intention to Reduce Chronic Wasting Disease Spread; Principal Investigator – Dr. Patrick Zollner; IRB Number – IRB-2023-1039.
 Conduct a lake diagnostic study: Apply to the LARE program
If you have noticed changes to water clarity or quality in your lake, consider conducting a lake diagnostic study to determine what environmental changes may be occurring in the lake or surrounding landscape.
Lake diagnostic studies assess the ecological health of Indiana’s lakes by investigating water quality, historical trends in plant and wildlife populations, and current habitat conditions. They can also identify nonpoint pollution sources by analyzing inlet streams and drains for nutrient and sediment inputs.
DNR's Lake and River Enhancement program (LARE) may provide as much as 80% of cost-share funding for lake diagnostic studies. All LARE projects must be applied for by local nonprofit sponsor organizations. Grant applications for the award cycle are due January 15, 2025, though applicants can contact LARE staff at any time to discuss potential projects. To learn more about lake diagnostic studies, LARE application requirements, or to apply for LARE funding, visit the LARE Program webpage.
Fishin' Pond volunteers needed
Indiana DNR is seeking volunteers to help youth fish at the State Fair Fishin’ Pond Aug. 2 - 18. As a volunteer, you can register families on site, work with kids as they fish with cane poles, or tie fishing knots and untangle lines. The Fishin’ Pond will be open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the fair from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. and 3–6 p.m. Volunteer shifts last four hours, and volunteers receive free parking, a free ticket to the fair, and a free T-shirt. At the Fishin’ Pond, there are opportunities for everyone to help us introduce fishing to more people.
If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up online. Help us get everyone hooked on fishin’!
Photo courtesy of R3 Clearinghouse.
Start scouting for deer season
Eager for deer season? Now is a great time to get your trail cameras out and start scouting for deer sign in your favorite hunting spots. Remember, trail cameras can be placed on Fish & Wildlife areas, Wetland Conservation Areas, Wildlife Management Areas, State Forests, and State Recreation Areas if the camera is legibly marked with (A) the name, address, and telephone number of the owner of the camera in the English language; or (B) the individual’s customer identification number issued by the DNR.
If you don’t have trail cameras, try looking for other sign, such as bedding areas, feeding areas and travel corridors from now until deer season. See our online resources for white-tailed deer for more hunting information.
The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has opened a second public comment period for proposed changes to Indiana’s river otter trapping rule before they vote on final adoption of the proposed changes. If adopted, the changes would take full effect this November in time for river otter trapping season.
DNR is proposing to open otter trapping statewide but keep all other otter regulations the same. The proposed changes will allow people to handle emerging wildlife conflicts in all counties and simplify the otter regulations. The DNR is confident the change will not negatively impact river otter populations, which staff will continue to monitor.
Public comments can be submitted online. Locate the “Submit Comments Here” link in the Rule Docket for the River Otter Trapping Rule. The deadline for public comments is June 25. The second public hearing will be held on Tuesday, June 25, between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. ET both online and in person at Fort Harrison State Park Inn at 5830 North Post Road, Indianapolis, in the Roosevelt Ballroom. To attend the public hearing online, go to Microsoft Teams and enter Meeting ID: 273 875 645 791 Passcode: vtsG9X
Learn more about the proposed rule changes. Questions about the proposed otter trapping rule changes should be directed to Geriann Albers at 812-822-3304 or galbers@dnr.IN.gov.
 Summer tips & tricks: Stay safe from ticks
As summer sun brings you outdoors, you may run into unwanted company in the form of ticks. Ticks can transmit diseases, such as Lyme disease, alpha-gal syndrome, and tularemia, that are harmful to humans and pets. Don’t let ticks “bug” you. When hiking outdoors, follow these simple steps to help stay safe from ticks:
- Wear light-colored clothing that covers your arms and legs.
- Use a repellant that contains DEET or another EPA-approved product.
- Walk near the center of trails and avoid walking through high grass and brush.
- After enjoying the outdoors, carefully check yourself, small children, and your pets for ticks.
For more detailed advice about avoiding ticks, visit the Indiana Department of Health’s tick bite prevention website.
 Dive into nature: Exciting summer events at Goose Pond FWA
Get ready to embark on an adventure-filled summer at Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area! Within 9,000+ acres of pristine wetland and upland habitat, you can find a series of engaging and educational public programs designed for nature enthusiasts of all ages.
Wild Wednesdays
Every Wednesday throughout June, July, and August, you can join our exciting series of fun hikes and programs that delve into the fascinating world of Indiana’s wildlife. These short, 30-minute to 1-hour programs promise an immersive experience, offering insights into the diverse ecosystems thriving at Goose Pond FWA. Where: Visitors Center, When: Every Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET
Crane Conservation: International Crane Foundation
In partnership with the world-renowned International Crane Foundation, join a family-friendly series of Saturday programs focused on learning about crane conservation Indiana. Where: Visitors Center When: June15 and 29, July 6 and 20, and Aug. 3 at 11 a.m. ET
 Turtle traffic: Saving turtles from roads
This summer, more turtles will be crossing roadways to find a place to nest. Here’s how you can lend a helping hand:
Turtles that are crossing roads should not be removed from the area, as they will seek to return to their home range, even if it means spending the rest of their life trying. If it is safe to do so, you can move turtles off the roadway in the same direction they were already heading. Move them by grasping the back of the top shell.
If you see a snapping turtle trying to cross the road, be aware that grabbing a snapping turtle’s tail can damage its spine. Instead, snapping turtles can be held by the top of the back of their shell and leveraged upward to handle them safely for both parties.
 Upcoming Nature Preserves hike: Pisgah Marsh
June 15, free, registration required.
Pisgah Marsh, Indiana birders’ hidden treasure, includes grassland, marsh, lake, and upland habitat. Nestled on the Kosciusko, Noble, and Whitley County lines in northeast Indiana, Pisgah Marsh is an ecologically sensitive, geologically significant, and biologically diverse area accessible through a boardwalk. The wetland and upland areas also provide habitat for migratory waterfowl, sandhill cranes, beavers, rails, squirrels, raccoons, and deer. A portion of the boardwalk meets ADA compliance and has an observation overlook. Depending on interest, a short hike off-trail may be offered, which will not be accessible. Wear appropriate shoes for hiking and expect a short, easy hike.
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