Anyone who has ever experienced Brown County must agree, Indiana doesn’t get much better. Nashville is the beating heart of Indiana’s art culture. So if fly fishing is an art and Brown County is a premier destination of artist embrace, then the area must be home to some worthy fishing, correct? Well, of course.
Brown County is located in the center of the southern half of the state. The quaint village of Nashville - the county seat - is roughly 60 miles south of Indianapolis, 80 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky, and is easily accessible off I-65. In Nashville, visitors will find numerous art galleries, unique shops, a winery, and restaurants to suit all tastes. Strolling the energized streets, dodging horse drawn carriages while munching roasted nuts and sipping apple cider is enough to justify the journey, but alas, there are fish waiting for properly presented flies.
Brown County State Park, Indiana’s largest at over 24,000 acres, is home to a couple of small lakes that are a float tube fisherman’s dream. Impoundments resting in the bottom of flooded hallows, Ogle Lake and Strahl Lake are pristine waters of remarkable beauty that happen to hold some fish. Now, don’t expect any records to be hauled from the park’s lakes anytime soon, but for the intensive purpose of enjoyable time spent fly fishing, these lakes will satisfy. Largemouth bass and bluegill are the dominate species found in the park.
Brown County State Park’s campground is a top notch Indiana Department of Natural Resources property. There are plenty of sites reserved for tents, as well as many large enough for the most extreme land yachts. Abe Martin Lodge is an amazing hotel inside the park with an indoor water park. Hiking, horse and mountain bike trails run throughout the property. The mountain bike trails are quickly becoming recognized as some of the grandest in the land. Bike Magazine recently listed the Brown County trails amongst the top 33 systems in America.
For those who prefer moving water, the Driftwood River is an underutilized resource full of smallmouth bass. Not actually in Brown County, the Driftwood is located a few miles east of the county line near the city of Columbus. A short river, measuring only 18 miles from its origin at the confluence of the Big Blue River and Sugar Creek, the Driftwood makes up for what it lacks in length with quality of fishing.
This is true streamer water. Nice riffles, long runs, deep holes, and obvious structure. Paddlers can enjoy the lower stretch of the river by putting in at the DNR access site located at Lowell Bridge and taking out at Mill Race Park in Columbus.
We all have our favorites. When it comes time to decide where to cast a fly and pitch a tent for a close to home, southern Indiana adventure, Yellowwood State Forest is my destination of choice.
Yellowwood State Forest is located between Nashville and Bloomington, just off Highway 46. The forest consists of 23,326 acres of public land that is popular with campers, hikers, hunters, fisherman, and horseback riders. In the summer, the dense forest is cool and inviting of exploration. In the fall, the canopy of foliage covering this rolling Brown County land is breathtaking.
Fly fishing Yellowwood is enjoyable for many reasons, but what I enjoy the most is the ability to camp right on the shore. All of the sites are primitive (class C). This means there is no electricity or shower houses. There is drinking water and vault toilets. Being a primitive campground not only keeps the number of campers and fishermen down, it generally limits campers to tents and small trailers. So, if you’re a tent camper, it doesn’t feel like your staked out in a fancy subdivision. There are two playgrounds for kids and a nice paved roads for bike riding in certain areas of the campground. The fee for camping on primitive sites per night is $8. A family can almost always arrive on Friday evening, find a suitable spot, pay $16, and have a campsite for the weekend.
Yellowwood Lake is a popular fishing impoundment located within the forest. Surrounded by beautiful hardwoods, the scenery and the solitude of this 133 acre lake speaks to the mindset of fly fishermen. Yellowwood Lake and Jackson Creek provide anglers with the opportunity to fish for bass, catfish, crappie, bluegill and even stocked trout. While all of these species are capable of being caught in fair numbers, it’s the bluegill in Yellowwood that draw anglers from near and far. Bluegill can be caught just about anywhere on the lake, as well as in Jackson Creek below the dam. Remember to respect the resource of these muscular panfish. It’s not hard to over fish a lake the size of Yellowwood.
The Hoosier Fly Fishing Club of Bloomington has adopted Yellowwood Lake as its home water. The members of the club find enjoyment in spending time at the picturesque lake and fishing in the solitude of the forest. Boats are permitted on the water, but only electric motors are allowed. The lack of swimming and especially the lack of outboard motors ensures the water remains rather undisturbed for fisherman. This is great lake for jon boats, canoes, kayaks, and float tubes.
The artist influence of Brown County makes the region a special place to visit. People from all over flock to this special spot in the heart of Hoosier hill country. If you still think of Indiana as a flatland full of cornfields and crazy basketball fans, your right, but we have a few surprises, too. When looking for that special vacation spot, one where you can get in an ample amount of quality fly fishing, but also enjoy an array of natural and artistic opportunities, Brown County is in a class of its own.