Great trip to Patoka Lake Saturday

[Larry-Southern Indiana]

I got there several hours before Moose showed up and had the buoys out and was catching fish when he showed up. Tight lineing in 15' to 30' of water got us each at limit of crappie. No giants like Jerry or Richard catch but nice fat ones they were. I filled up one of those large ice cream containers full of fillets last night. Gonna give my mom some today and have some tonight for dinner.

I showed Moose another spot yesterday in the same area we have been fishing lately but this one is in deeper water. There's another one out closer to the channel we didn't fish. It should be great when the water gets in the low to mid 40's. The other holes have plenty of deep cover and the fish were in there thicker than flies on a cow pie. Can't hardly believe how good they were biting yesterday and no one in sight all day :D :D .

I for one am glad hunting season is here the lake has very little traffic now and that's the way I like it. Now if we could get the wind to lay down instead of blowing everytime we go out that would be nice.

I ain't told Moose yet but I ain't showing him all my spots. It's his turn to show me some now. hee hee :D

Larry

[crap-king]

I got there several hours before Moose showed up and had the buoys out and was catching fish when he showed up. Tight lineing in 15' to 30' of water got us each at limit of crappie. No giants like Jerry or Richard catch but nice fat ones they were. I filled up one of those large ice cream containers full of fillets last night. Gonna give my mom some today and have some tonight for dinner.

I showed Moose another spot yesterday in the same area we have been fishing lately but this one is in deeper water. There's another one out closer to the channel we didn't fish. It should be great when the water gets in the low to mid 40's. The other holes have plenty of deep cover and the fish were in there thicker than flies on a cow pie. Can't hardly believe how good they were biting yesterday and no one in sight all day :D :D .

I for one am glad hunting season is here the lake has very little traffic now and that's the way I like it. Now if we could get the wind to lay down instead of blowing everytime we go out that would be nice.

I ain't told Moose yet but I ain't showing him all my spots. It's his turn to show me some now. hee hee :D

Larry

turn about is fairplay
crap-king

[Moose1am]

Great post Larry:
I might add that the water temp at the surface was about 55 deg F and the air temps seemed to be in the upper 50's Saturday. Winds were at 10mph out of the SW. Water was very clear. Fish seemed to be in the brush and I caught most fish in the 15ft depths.

I got the postal scale out last night before I cleaned all my fish. I have a cutting board screwed to the top of a corner of my backdoor deck and clean the fish there. I used a ruler and drew some marks ever inch. That way as I am cleaning my fish I can measure each fish's lenght. My biggest was only 11 inches long which was good for me. We will catch the bigger ones when I show you my spots. LOL

I weighted one of the fish and it weighted a whopping 7.5 oz. Almost 1/2 pound. But I ended up cleaning 15 crappie and have a nice mess of filets for dinner. I was tired when I finished that job. Had to dig a hole to bury the fish head etc. Washed the shovel off and cleaned it and hung it back up. All the fish were alive when I got home as the Wal-Mart aerator that I put in the live well did it's job. I ended up putting the 15 crappie in some fresh water that I put in my 48 quart cooler. I used a net to get the crappie out of my live well and into a bucket full of fresh chemically treated water and then dumped the crappie in my cooler. I hate cleaning dead fish. The Vectror Battery Pack was used to supply power to the aerator and the electric filet knife as I have a one to two adaptor that allows me to run two 12 volt devices from one 12 volt dc cigarette lighter power outlet.

These fish were fattening up for the winter. I found lots of minnows inside their stomachs. Some were female and had small egg sacs too. The larger ones were females.

Can't wait to someday discover the location of those Patoka Lake Slabs. The ones that run in the 15" lenght and 1 lb to 2 lb ranges. I know that they exist as when the Pros from Crappie USA come to fish Patoka they always seem to haul a bunch into the weigh in.

Larry we need to go fish the spot that I found last April. We have yet to fish that spot and next year the first of April should be the time to go fish it.

We may have to fish with slip bobbers or the drop shot method may work. Not sure how shy those big slabs are. They may bite our drop shot rigs and they may spook if we get to close to them. They will be in 10 to 12ft of water but this water will be stained.

Glad that I made the trip up to fish with you. I dressed warm enough and the only thing that got cold was my hands. LOL That is what happens when I fail to dry my hands off with a towel after dipping in to get those minnows. I now have about 4 dozen minnows to feed the crappie. It's a good thing too as they have gone for three days without any food.

Last night I dumped a scoop of minnows into their aquarium and they ate them all by this morning. The BP was around 30.3" last night but that didn't prevent them from waking up and eating. When they get hungry they will eat no matter what the outside air pressure is doing. But when I turn the aquarium lights on they stopped eating. They just don't like that bright light.

I am not ready to put the boat away yet. I may have to start fishing anohter local fishing hole to keep myself busy.

Glad you asked me to come up and fish with you. I had a good time.


I am sitting here on the computer and in the warm house. Now what do I do? Have to go out to the other side of town to clean the leaves out of my mom's house for the third and final time this fall. I hate maple trees that grow next to the house. Between the seeds in the spring and the leaves in the fall they are a real pain sometimes. But they do provide shade in the summertime and help cool the back yard and the house. They are pretty but their roots grow up near the surface and they are hard on the lawmowers.

The Indiana DNR has closed of Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Recreation area to the fishermen until Jan 22 2005. So my local fishing hole is out of bounds for me these next two months. Man I am going to go crazy not being able to fish. I guess I am going to have to get back into hunting. Unfortunately I sold my shotgun many years ago. And to replace it won't be cheap.

I got there several hours before Moose showed up and had the buoys out and was catching fish when he showed up. Tight lineing in 15' to 30' of water got us each at limit of crappie. No giants like Jerry or Richard catch but nice fat ones they were. I filled up one of those large ice cream containers full of fillets last night. Gonna give my mom some today and have some tonight for dinner.

I showed Moose another spot yesterday in the same area we have been fishing lately but this one is in deeper water. There's another one out closer to the channel we didn't fish. It should be great when the water gets in the low to mid 40's. The other holes have plenty of deep cover and the fish were in there thicker than flies on a cow pie. Can't hardly believe how good they were biting yesterday and no one in sight all day :D :D .

I for one am glad hunting season is here the lake has very little traffic now and that's the way I like it. Now if we could get the wind to lay down instead of blowing everytime we go out that would be nice.

I ain't told Moose yet but I ain't showing him all my spots. It's his turn to show me some now. hee hee :D

Larry