Tried to crank Patoka today.

Went to Patoka and launched at 8 am at Osborne and trolled about 1.5 miles above Wals Launch hitting all the spots I have previously over the years, of where I had caught crappies and didn't get a hit from anything. Lake was dead calm, not a ripple anywhere, no breeze, fish suspended in this high pressure, bright blue sky 85 degrees and the lake water temp at Osborne was 76. Tried all colors, depths running bandits, diff speeds. Nada and so fired the motor up and went past Little Patoka Launch and at 2 pm finally caught my first fish of the day, a 8" bass. After that over next 2 hrs. did pick up a nice 13" crappie in 12' of water and 4 more dinks and at 4 pm, packed it in and went back and loaded up. I tried all depths also in all the timber I ran thru, snagged the Crankbaits 9 times and on 10th snag, finally lost a bandit getting all others free. At the takeout at Osborn another guy and his wife were putting in, and he told me they fished above Osborne yesterday with minnows and didn't get a hit either and we're going to try the main lake. What few fishermen I saw, weren't catching anything and moving quite a bit. Very pathetic for Patoka to not even catch a pesky yellow bass. I would think, it has to get better when a weather front moves in. Patoka used to be my all time favorite lake and I am sure it will suck me in again to going back again. :banghead I covered 14 miles and at 4 pm water temp was 80.

Good report. You have more patience than me. Sounds like it might be time to hit the river.

I didn't have my long lining gear for jigs, just the crankin gear and next time will carry 4 more rods with me for long lining jigs. Only thing working the top of the water was schools of shad. If I hadn't been using a umbrella setup to stay out of the sun, would have left earlier, but figured fish had to feed sometime and they probably did after I left. rotfl

Hi Guys, Please tell me about "long lining gear" and how to ues it. I'm new to fresh water catchin...been a salt water guide for 35 years, but semi retired now and moved away from the coast. Thanks in advance.

If you didn't get much they weren't bitting then because you are always dialed in cevans. Good report

I use 10' - 12' B & M jigging poles and would use longer but in a 16' G3 Jon boat and just inconvenient to go longer for me. Spinning reels loaded with the equilivant of 4 lb test line but using 10lb yellow power pro braid and depending on the depth of the water I am trolling in, 1/16 to 1/4 oz jigs and roadrunners early in the season like February/March start out using hair jigs, Switch over to tubes, curlie tails, Bobby garland soft baits as well as other types also in diff. colors. If using the tubes of which I prefer I inject them with crappie nibbles, and troll them as far as I can cast them out of the boat, and speed is 0.8 to 1.1 mph on gps and concentrate running over flats, creek channels and junctions, brush and stump bed areas, in other words underwater structure. And when finding them, just work them over. You can troll shallow to as deep as the fish are using maps and depth finders. I am strictly a artificial bait fisherman and have not used live bait in the past 25 yrs or so.

Thanks for the info. I will definitely try this on my next trip to the lake. Love slow trolling with artificials. I, too, am an artificials only fisherman. My theory is if they ain't bitting jigs and soft baits, they just ain't bitting.