WINAMAC, Ind.--On Thursday, I expanded my river horizons with a fishing float on the Tippecanoe River in Idiana about 2 hours southeast of Chicago.
It is the outdoor column in the Sun-Times for Sunday.
Lee Sczepanski called last month after a fun float with friends on the Tippy with rave reports of big nothern pike he had seen and a 19.5-inch smallie caught at the very end.
So we finally put together a more focused fishing float from Tippecanoe River State Park to Tippy-Canoe Rentals takeout, just upstream of Winamac.
We caught something like 20, but it is the kind of water that if we do it again, we should be able to top 100 if we put our time in.
Most of the smallies were small river runners, though we caught a few in the 10-12 inch range. This was the best one of the trip. The 16 1/2-incher blew up on a firetiger Pop-R where the riprap ends behind me.
For Tippecanoe River SP, which includes canoe camp sites, go to in.gov/dnr/parklake/2965.htm or call (574) 946-3213; for Tippy-Canoe Rentals, call (574) 946-4137; for Booky's Bait and Tackle, call (574) 946-4465.
Thank you for sharing the photos and fishing report on the Tippecanoe River. My Flory ancestors farmed and managed to survive for several generations along the Tippecanoe. I remember visiting my great uncle's farm who brought out of his barn an old wooden box filled with arrowheads and cutting tools picked up over the years from his newly plowed fields. According to family lore, the biggest threat was from malaria carried by the mosquitoes that thrived in the marshes along the river. Thanks again. Tom Nocera
My dad, brother and I made this trip in 1850 when I was 5... The photos bring back great memories of that trip which started from my grandfathers place above Lieters Ford.
The memories had me sorting through my memories of what rivers I floated in one form or another. And apparently I have lived longer than I realized because my list is stretched over quite a fw states and rivers. Hmmm? Sounds like a column sometime.
I meant to say 1950.... I'm getting older , but not that much...