Went to Patoka today. Sucks!

Can't say I will ever go back. Caught about 100 crappies and yellow bass,, trolled spinners and jigged for walleye where I had previous past years had caught one here and there on main lake hitting alll the points, the dam, the islands over 8 hrs. Burnt up 4 doz night crawlers then switched to crank baits of all types. Never caught a walleye or a keeper crappie or a large enough blue gill to keep. Only saw 6 other boats fishing, 2 house boats, 1 pontoon boat, and 1 jet skier. Had the entire lake to myself. Big thing I noticed is not a weed growing in the lake anywhere. Every weed bed is gone and that is a tremendous loss of cover especially for the hatch or spawned fry. Lake is only up about 4 ft. Over summer pool. I have no idea where it all went. I stopped at Patoka Marine and chatted with the guys there and they didn't know, but heard others complain also. They also said they haven't heard of any wallleye caught either. I'm done with Patoka, it's all yours.

No thanks, take it back

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Cold front. Talked to MRDUX he said it was real tough yesterday too. Even on a day I think it may be a good fishing day it's hard for me to get motivated to go to Patoka.

Patoka is where we camp so I fish there as well. This is only my 2nd year trying to crappie fish & it has been a struggle. By no means do I know enough to be at the level of Mr. Chuck, it just seems the reputation the lake used to have doesn't hold true anymore. Best of luck to those out fishing, hopefully one day I will be able to give out good advice on how & where to catch a good mess!

Without the weed beds, you will have to fish the timber, existing brush piles, downed trees, and structure fish the creek channels, flats, humps, intersecting creek channels, baitballs, and search for crappies. Long lining jigs and crankbaits would be the easiest search method and quickest if you fish Patoka. I will hit it again just because I am hard headed and wasn't happy with the looks of how it's changed. We will just have to change with the lake.

find new ways

Most weeds have been gone for some time now. Still catch a few good ones real early. Very few and very early.:mad::mad::mad:

The only weeds I've seen are deep. They didn't grow well with the lake so low in early spring. They'll be back.

I agree with cevans, the fish are there. You just have to find them. Spider rigging wind protected channel drop offs with double minnow rigs has gotten me 40 fish per trip a few times this year after cold fronts where I'm from. Get a map of the lake or make one it's invaluable when the bite is slow and you have to rethink where they may be. Have fun


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What gets me is it's still and excellent green carp and catfish lake !

When the lake level changes you have to adapt and fish new spots. The new spots may be up towards the bank a few yards or 50 yards depending on the slope of the land by the shoreline. Look for the first and second drops off the banks and know that this time of the year the crappie are roaming the edges of these drops but in the open water areas. They wlll be all above the thermoclines of course. They are out there chasing the young of the year schools of shade. Submerged trees edges are also good spots to try especially if there is a creek or ditch running though the area. Creek and river intersections are also good spots to try and fish. fish early and late in the day when it's cooler and the sun is low in the sky. Try fishing at night! Fish with live minnows or combination of minnow and jigs in water up to 20 ft deep. Find areas that are 18 to 23 ft deep and along the River Channels or Creeks and Ditches with timber in them. Try the back of the coves in the morning and then work out to the first drop off. Fish the drop and then back out and fish the second big drop off. Bends in the creek channels are also good spots to try. Old Bridges that once crossed the old creeks are good spots for fish to gather in they are in the proper depth range. Patoka does not have a much current as places that generate electricity and that allow much more water to flow though the dam so the thermocline at Patoka is going to be more established. With low oxygen content below the thermocline there won't be too many sport fish. Maybe up near he dam the deeper waters may hold more dissolved oxygen (DO) but I sort of doubt it will hold much DO below 25 ft. Try pulling or pushing some crank baits out over the main river channel. But fish deeper. The fish are going to be much deeper than in the spring this time of the year when it's hot and the sun is high in the sky. Try fishing with 200 ft of ten pound test mono line out behind the boat and pulling some 300 bandit crank baits. Fish the deeper water drop offs with this system and you will catch both crappie and suspended large mouth bass. Tie on a small trailer jig to the back hook and use 6 lb test line or lighter line than the main line. The jig line will break first if the jig gets hung up. The diameter of the line is key to this method in that ten pound test Stren Mono line will reach the required depth of 18 ft or so with about 200 ft out. Go about 1 mph to 2 mph and try varying the speed of the boat. Zig zagging the boat will make the inside lines slow down and the outside lines speed up a bit. Try staying over the edge of the drop offs.

The weeds died with they got covered up with too much water and could not get the sunlight that they needed to live and grow. They will return once the lake gets stabilized. We had way too much rain this spring and the lake was way over it's normal spring time levels and even the summer pool level is 5 ft below where the lake was last week.

Moveon,
Thank you for the detailed information! I will be there the next 4 weekends so hopefully I can snag a few.

Just go to Dogwood. Won't waste my time at Patoka . DNR has screwed that lake up bigtime.