Put a boat in at any of thirteen access points and you’re fishing deep, clear water that ordinary lakes can’t match. The Dugger Unit is 2,150 acres of reclaimed mining ground managed as part of Greene-Sullivan State Forest, out of a 1985 trade: Indiana DNR let Peabody Mining remine 140 acres inside the forest, Peabody handed over 1,250 acres next door in March 1995, and another 900-plus acres followed in September 2001.
Ten major lakes; the water adds up to more than 400 acres. Bass Lake is the biggest at 220 acres, with an island, standing timber, an accessible fishing pier on the south shore, and muskellunge from a 1997 stocking. The old pits go deep: West Lake to 80 feet, Long Lake to 72, Black Cat to 89. Largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, redear, and catfish come out of most of the lakes; motors are electric trolling only, and the carry-in lakes are the quiet end of the property.
County Road 350 East splits the unit. The West side allows limited hunting; the East side doesn’t, leaving the east half free of hunting year-round. Hiking and wildlife watching are welcome on both sides. Mountain bikes, off-road vehicles, horses, and overnight camping aren’t permitted; camping is at the Greene-Sullivan campgrounds south of Dugger on State Road 159.
The Dugger Unit is managed out of the Greene-Sullivan State Forest office at 2551 S. State Road 159 in Dugger. Office phone is (812) 648-2810.
