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Home › Waters › Indiana › Tippecanoe River
River · Northern Indiana · Indiana

Tippecanoe River Fishing Guides

One of the most biologically diverse rivers in the Midwest, a clear lake-fed smallmouth stream running from the Barbee chain down past Winamac and Monticello to the Wabash.

Sunrise over a winding river cutting through open farm country
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Tippecanoe River

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

About the Tippecanoe River

The Tippecanoe runs about a hundred and eighty miles across northern Indiana from the lakes in Kosciusko County down through Winamac, Monticello and Delphi to the Wabash near Lafayette. Because so much of its flow comes out of natural lakes and glacial sand rather than farm-field runoff, it runs clearer and steadier than most Midwestern rivers of its size, and that clarity supports an extraordinary range of life, including one of the richest freshwater mussel communities in North America. Conservation groups rank it among the most biologically significant rivers in the region.

For anglers it is a smallmouth river first. The gravel and cobble reaches above and below Winamac hold good numbers, with rock bass everywhere and the occasional very good fish on the deeper bends and the log jams. Channel and flathead catfish work the holes, northern pike hold in the slower weedy stretches near the lakes, and the impoundments at Lake Shafer and Lake Freeman split the river and add walleye and largemouth to the mix. Below Oakdale Dam the river runs to the Wabash through some of the best smallmouth water in the state.

The Ora gauge reads the upper-middle river. Moderate readings give clear water, defined riffles and easy floating in a canoe or kayak, which is how most of this river is fished. Heavy rain brings it up and colors it for a couple of days, and spring flows can be pushy through the tighter reaches. Late-summer low water is very clear and the fish get spooky, which favors early mornings and long casts.

Winamac, Monticello, Delphi and the Tippecanoe River State Park provide access and camping along the corridor.

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Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

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Posting to Tippecanoe River.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Tippecanoe River cfs

Now: 514 cfs, read 3:45 am CDT, Mon Oct 19, 2026 (USGS 03331500, TIPPECANOE RIVER NEAR ORA, IN).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Tippecanoe River State Park: the largest public access, camping and several miles of river.
Winamac: town access and canoe launch near the gauge reach.
Ora and Monterey: quiet upper-middle access points.
Lake Shafer and Lake Freeman: the impoundments at Monticello.
Oakdale Dam: the tailwater and the start of the lower river.
Delphi and the Wabash and Erie Canal Park: lower river access.
Tippecanoe Battlefield and the Wabash confluence: the bottom end.

Seasons

April and May: high water and the first smallmouth activity; walleye in the tailwaters.
June and July: peak float season, topwater smallmouth and comfortable flows.
August: low clear water, spooky fish, early mornings.
September and October: the biggest smallmouth of the year and beautiful floating.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Tippecanoe River?

As of Oct 19, 3:45 am, the USGS gauge TIPPECANOE RIVER NEAR ORA, IN reads 514 cfs, the 76th percentile for this date. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Tippecanoe River?

Anglers target Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye on the Tippecanoe River in Indiana.

Are there fishing guides on the Tippecanoe River?

GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Tippecanoe River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where can you access the Tippecanoe River?

Tippecanoe River State Park: the largest public access, camping and several miles of river. Winamac: town access and canoe launch near the gauge reach. Ora and Monterey: quiet upper-middle access points. Lake Shafer and Lake Freeman: the impoundments at Monticello. Oakdale Dam: the tailwater and the start of the lower river. Delphi and the Wabash and Erie Canal Park: lower river access. Tippecanoe Battlefield and the Wabash confluence: the bottom end.

When is the best time to fish the Tippecanoe River?

April and May: high water and the first smallmouth activity; walleye in the tailwaters. June and July: peak float season, topwater smallmouth and comfortable flows. August: low clear water, spooky fish, early mornings. September and October: the biggest smallmouth of the year and beautiful floating.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Tippecanoe River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Indiana agency site: https://www.in.gov/dnr/fish-and-wildlife/fishing/fishing-guide-and-regulations/