Fishing Report For Hardy Lake, IN

By Rick Seaman

March 19, 2025

Popular Fish Species Reports
Hardy Lake Fishing Video
Available Fish Species
Today's Weather & Forecast
Boat Launch Ramps
Fishing License
Map
Contact Info

Fishing Report Hardy Lake, IN

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Hardy Lake, IN

Largemouth Bass

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Locals report good success with jigs and spinnerbaits here in Hardy Lake. Both baits work well around brush and vegetation, and will also catch fish on rocky or gravel shorelines. Crankbaits and vibrating jigs are also local favorites. When bass get finicky, a stick worm, rigged wacky style, has been getting bites when nothing else seems to peak their interest. The bass are already moving up shallow, feeding and preparing for the spawn. The lake is notorious for better than average size bass, with lunkers showing up often enough to make you want to make a few more casts.

Black Crappie

Current Report: Fair To Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Crappie fishing has been decent in Hardy Lake for the last couple weeks, and should improve each and every week for the next month or more. Anglers who have fished the lake recently report casting small crappie jigs or live minnows with good success, with or without a bobber. Spring is always the premiere time to be on the water as crappie move into shallow coves to spawn. Docks, brush, wood and deep vegetation are holding crappie now that they are shallow. Light tackle with 4 lb to 8 lb line is ideal. Once they move to slightly deeper water, locals report good success using fish finders to locate schools of crappie, which tend to stack vertically around cover.

Channel Catfish

Current Report: Fair To Good
Outlook: Good

Hardy Lake has plenty of channel cats over 10 pounds being caught frequently. As Spring warms the lake, catfish move up stream to feed and spawn looking for water temperature in the mid 60s. Fishing for channel catfish is often productive around any kind of structure, especially if it is next to deep water. Fishing late in the day until midnight often produces the best fishing, and prime feeding time for channel cats. Submerged road beds, creek channels and rocky points are all good places to begin. Use a slip sinker or Carolina rig setup. Cut bait, worms and stink baits are all beginning to catch catfish now.

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, channel catfish, black crappie, walleye, bluegill, redear sunfish, muskie, northern pike and tiger muskie at Hardy Lake in Indiana.

Hardy Lake is a 740 acre reservoir, with about one mile of shoreline. It is located in the Hardy Lake State Recreation Area. The lake has a healthy population of fish species including bass, catfish, crappie, walleye, sunfish, muskie and pike.

Primary fish species residing in Lake Hardy

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Today's Weather & Forecast

Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings

Click here for boat ramps available at this lake.

Fishing License

Click here for a Indiana Fishing License.

Map - Fishing & Access

Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".