Brookville Lake Fishing Guides and Conditions, Indiana

About the Brookville Lake

Brookville Lake sits on the East Fork of the Whitewater River in the southeast corner of Indiana, close enough to Cincinnati that a good share of the traffic on it is from across the state line. It is deeper and considerably clearer than most Indiana reservoirs, and that clarity shapes everything about how it fishes.

Walleye are the reason Brookville has a reputation. The state stocks them heavily, the deep clear water suits them, and the lake produces both numbers and size. They are fished with jigs and live bait in spring, trolled and drifted through summer, and grouped up again in autumn. Hybrid striped bass add an open-water fishery alongside them.

Smallmouth bass on the rock and riprap are a genuine target, which is unusual in Indiana, and largemouth hold in the arms and around the wood. Crappie fishing is good and the panfishing is dependable.

The clarity means the standard clear-water rules apply: fish early, fish light, and expect the fish deeper than you would on a stained lake. It also means that a windy day with some colour stirred into the shallows can be the best day of the month.

The tailwater below the dam is worth a mention of its own. Cold water released from the bottom of the lake supports a stocked trout fishery in the Whitewater River below Brookville, which is an unusual thing to find in this corner of Indiana and gives the area a second kind of day out.

The gauge below reports both pool elevation and water temperature, which is more than most reservoirs offer. On a walleye lake the temperature reading is genuinely useful, because it tells you which part of the season you are actually in rather than what the calendar says.

Access

Mounds State Recreation Area: ramps, camping and beach near the dam.
Quakertown State Recreation Area: the northern access with a marina.
Fairfield Causeway: bank access and quick reach to both basins.
Garr Hill and Kent: quieter ramps on the east side.
Tailwater below the dam at Brookville: a trout fishery in its own right.
Extensive public shoreline gives good walk-in bank access.
Note: clear water. Early starts and lighter line pay here.

Seasons

Winter: low pool, deep fish, and ice fishing in the arms in a hard winter.
Spring: the walleye spawn and the best fishing of the year.
Summer: trolling for walleye, smallmouth on the rock, hybrids in open water.
Fall: cooling water and a strong second walleye season.