Indiana anglers need to purchase new fishing licenses. State-issued fishing licenses are valid from April 1 through March 31 of the following year. A valid license is needed to fish in public lakes, streams, rivers or tributaries in Indiana or its boundary waters.
Children under 18 and adults who were born before April 1, 1943 are not required to have a license to fish, according to the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife.
An annual fishing license costs $17 for Indiana residents and $35 for non-residents. Indiana residents who are at least 64 years old and born after March 31, 1943 are eligible to purchase a Senior Annual license for $3 or a Senior Fish for Life license for $17.
Licenses can be purchased online at INHuntFish.com, in person at more than 525 retailers statewide, or by calling the DNR Customer Service Center at (317) 232-4200 during normal business hours.
Licensed anglers are encouraged to report their big catches to the DNR Fish & Wildlife’s Fish of the Year program, which rewards anglers for the biggest fish, measured in inches.
The state honored 25 anglers in 2016, including Jeff Armstrong of Wheatfield, who submitted five winning catches. He recorded record Bluegill, Rock Bass and White Bass in Lake Maxinkuckee; a record Sauger in the Tippecanoe River in Marshall County ; and caught the 2016 record common carp in Bass Lake.
Mark Holbrook caught the 2016 record Bowfin and Walleye in the Tippecanoe River in Pulaski County.
The 2016 state record Yellow perch was caught in Lake of the Woods in Marshall County by Sullivan Hubert.
DNR officials say nearly half of last year’s winners were the only entry for that species.
The 2016 Fish of the Year winners, there size, and where the fish were caught are:
Blue catfish: 50 inches, Shawn M. Harris, Ohio River (Ohio County)
Bluegill: 11 inches, Jeff Armstrong, (Marshall), and Dennis Thompson, Krueger Lake (Jefferson)
Bowfin: 32.5 inches, Mark Holbrook, Tippecanoe River (Pulaski)
Buffalo: 38.3 inches, Brian Waldman, Cagles Mill Lake (Owen, Putnam)
Bullhead: 16 inches, Paul Weber, private pond (Lake County)
Channel catfish: 42 inches, Nicholas R. Staigl, Lake McCoy (Decatur)
Cisco: 15.3 inches, Robert Ecenbarger, Little Crooked Lake, (Whitley)
Common carp: 32.5 inches, Jeff Armstrong, Bass Lake (Starke)
Crappie: 18.3 inches, Mike Pasini, private lake (Johnson)
Flathead catfish: 50 inches, Jason Metz, Eel River (Clay)
Freshwater drum: 26.5 inches, Sheena Donald, Ohio River (Switzerland)
Green sunfish: 11 inches, Luke Tincher, private pond (Orange)
Hybrid striped bass: 30 inches, Hao Wu, Tippecanoe River (Carroll)
Largemouth bass: 29 inches, Greg Burchett, private lake (Ripley)
Longnose gar: 43.3 inches, Tristan Mobley, Wabash River (Gibson)
Northern pike: 42.5 inches, Robert L. Kelley, Marsh Lake (Steuben)
Rainbow trout: 20 inches, Larry A. Sheets, Olin Lake (LaGrange)
Redear sunfish: 12 inches, William Endorf, Midland Lake (Greene)
Rock bass: 11.8 inches, Jeff Armstrong, Lake Maxinkuckee (Marshall)
Sauger: 23.5 inches, Jeff Armstrong, Tippecanoe River (Marshall)
Shortnose gar: 28.3 inches, Johnathon Marshall, Wabash River (Parke)
Smallmouth bass: 20.5 inches, Steven O. Williams, Tippecanoe River (White)
Spotted gar: 24.3 inches, Mark Losee, Simonton Lake (Elkhart)
Steelhead: 38.1 inches, Tristan Weaver, Trail Creek (LaPorte)
Striped bass: 40.3 inches, Kody Neece, Hardy Lake (Scott)
Sucker: 25 inches, Joseph Bickel, Wabash River (Huntington)
Walleye: 27.5 inches, Mark Holbrook, Tippecanoe River (Pulaski)
Warmouth: 9.5 inches, Mark Losee, Simonton Lake (Elkhart)
White bass: 19.5 inches, Jeff Armstrong, Lake Maxinkuckee (Marshall)
White catfish: 28 inches, Shawn M. Harris, Bischoff Reservoir (Ripley)
Yellow bass: 11 inches, Kody Neece, Hardy Lake (Scott)
Yellow perch: 14.5 inches, Sullivan Hubert, Lake of the Woods (Marshall)
If you think you’ve caught a possible winner:
• Measure the length of the fish
• Have at least one person who is not a relative witness the measurement
• Take one or more photos of the fish, preferably of you holding the fish
• Visit wildlife.IN.gov/3577.htm for an entry form
• Complete the entry form, including witness name and contact information, a copy of your fishing license (if required), and send it to Record Fish Program, Division of Fish & Wildlife, 402 W. Washington St., Room W273, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, or submit by email to recordfish@dnr.IN.gov
