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Folks, looking for info on Patoka Lake in Indiana. I have been seeing some tournament results and the size of the crappie look to be good average size. I am getting close to retirement and want to have a place on a lake. Been looking at Waynoka, but having second thoughts. Can anyone give me a quick overview of what the crappie fishing is like on Patoka? Any advice is appreciated.
Fishing for fun...... I can't help u with payola but can tell u Waynoka is fun but have some negatives for sure.... That place has become very much to the side of catering to the pleasure boaters and not so much the fisherman.... It's already very hard to put a boat in now due the them drawing lake down and when they do draw it down it is for dock repairs etc so you cannot fish docks in the winter....... I own a lot there and if it weren't for the rec center for my kid I'd get rid of it... Lots of rules regs to live there... Lots of crappie and I mean tons but your gonna catch 100 9" fish to get a good one... I live less than 5 min from Waynoka and I drive right past it to fish elsewhere.... Don't get me wrong I fish it hard when I want some fish to eat and the spring time crappie fishing is KILLER but your not gonna get a bunch of trophy fish at that place
I'm only familiar with Patoka. The lake itself, is a real gem. Great views and plenty of creek arms to get away from pleasure boaters, make it a spectacular place to spend your time. The crappie fishing, on the other hand, can be quite tough, at times. I've never had a great amount of trouble catching fish, but quality of fish is another story. Make no mistake, the lake has some very nice fish with true trophy potential. I've heard others say it, and would concur, that if you can catch good fish consistently at Patoka, then you can go to any body of water and catch fish. Some days it's tough to find an 8" fish out of 100, other days you can get your limit of eaters and even stretch your line on some 2 lbers.
It is well worth a weekend trip to see the countryside.
Congrats to you on the upcoming retirement. I know how you feel, I have 6 more weeks and I'm done too.
2 years ago I moved out next to East Fork so when my time became mine to do what I want I would only be 10 minutes from the lake. I will say I love it. The draw back is now that I'm so close to EF it's hard to take off and drive for an hour to fish anywhere else. Next year I plan on spending more time fishing other places.
Just curious...what part of the state do you live in now? I'm assuming SW Ohio.
Since they did all of the work on C-land and did the draw down/refill a friend and myself have been wondering what the crappie fishing down there was like. Lot's of brush and stuff grew up while the lake was down and now it's all underwater. It has to have some killer crappie fishing going on down there. Have you considered that area? Green River Lake is also fairly close.
I would think the drive to some of the Ky lakes would be similar to Patoka.
Max, I fully appreciate what you have already done before retirement. I am a couple years away and have started the process of trying to decide where I want to have a lake home for when I do retire. Patoka was a lake I kept hearing about but really have little info on. I really respect filletfetish comments above. Honest comments like that are what I need. I live in SW Ohio. All my life. East Fork I consider my home lake. My partners and I do extremely well on that lake. I have been looking at properties on CLand, Green River, Patoka, Barren River, Taylorsville, Cave Run, Waynoka. Each has +/-'s. My wife does not want to relocate. The lake home would be a second home. I just want to have access to a good crappie lake when I retire.
I know what you're saying. Instead of relocating in this area, I tried to see if my wife had any interest in moving to the Ky Lake region. At 1st the thought sounded good but then she thought about the kids, grandkids and all her tennis buddies, so here we are.
On another thread a few years ago a guy asked a similar question on buying a place in Florida and 1 response made good sense. Since you aren't familiar with the area you are talking about have you considered looking into a rental for a few months. It doesn't have to be the perfect place or the perfect set up but it will give you an opportunity to check out an area or even several areas over the next few years to see what suits your needs without making a more concrete commitment. When you do find an area you like then buy what you want, it seemed like a good idea to me.
Max, yes I have thought about renting a place also. I have been going to Reelfoot Lake for the past 27 years to various resorts around the lake. Settled on Sportsman's Resort on the North end. Could rent a place down there for a couple weeks to see how that goes. Also been going to Kentucky Lake. Stayed at Moor's Resort in the Northern section and Buchanan's Resort and Mansard Island Resort in the Paris Landing area. Also nice places to look for a rental for an extended period. Had my personal best day of crappie fishing at Mansard Island resort. 60 crappie (2 person limit) that weighed 92 pounds. Amazing day of fishing. I will do my homework before making a decision. Have plenty of time. And I always have the lakes around here until then. My partners and I will be going to Ceaser's Creek, Rocky Fork, East Fork, maybe Boltz and Brookville over the next week. Been averaging >100 fish a day on EFL, but lots of smaller fish. Trying other lakes for better size.
You can't go wrong with Barren river lake. Beautiful area and great fishing. Kdfw manages their lakes well. Plus you not too far from Ky and Barkley lakes. It also fishes really well in the winterQuote:
Originally Posted by fishinforfun
Boltz in Grant County has some nice lots right overlooking the lake. I looked at a lot myself and have fished it several times in 2013-2014.
However, the crappie fishing is underwhelming. Tons of small whites. 18 months ago the state took about 2,000 whites out and moved them to Taylorsville. But, I did not notice any change when I last went last fall.
I think it's like East Fork and it's recent fish kill. A lot them are gone but they reproduce so prolifically that its tough to alter that balance.
It is good to start looking and planning early. I started about 10 years ago and it's all finally coming into place. I guess we're lucky in the respect we have so many places within a 5 or 6 hour drive to choose from.
Patoka Good lake with Good Crappie
Back to your original question. FF is right on about Patoka. Beautiful lake with lot of idle zones to escape the wakes. It is most often tuff to find 9" or better fish and you will wade through lot of dinks to do so. I did catch some 14-15"s this spring but not often. I live an hour or less from Patoka, Monroe, Boggs and Dogwood. When I want quality crappie or bass I drive to Illinois and Kentucky. If I just want to go fishing I take a shorter drive. BTW, I am not a great crappie fisherman, just love to go. Hope that helps in your decision and happy retirement!
One thing to know about Patoka is that all of the shoreline is public property, so there are no lakefront homes or businesses other than the marinas.
You pretty much explained Waynoka to a "T". The biggest crappie I have ever witnessed caught at 17&3/4" came from that lake but I've never seen another close... They are in that place but just not normal.... Lake Waynoka has lots of no wake zones also.Quote:
Originally Posted by Whaler
take a look at Home Tournament Results Past Results (Archives last five years
Larry showing off with his name At the top of that list!!����. Plenty of fish caught over a pound though that's pretty good
no... but if he looks at the 5 years of archives he will see Patoka, Monroe are very good lakes with good fish along with 8 or 9 other lakes in Ind... when was the last time you saw 9lb 7fish bag of crappie in Oh. you guys need to fish ISM...
PS i was only the netman..