Patoka Report?

[Indy-Travis]

Anybody been on Patoka lately? I will be down there this weekend, wondering what the water temps are like, and if the crappie are up shallow? Last time I was down there was late March, and we were catching them in deep timber. Any info would be helpful. Thanks!

[Moose1am]

Indy-Travis:
I fished Patoka last Wed and found it muddy. I fished upriver from Walls Boat ramp. The other parts of the main lake looked much clearer. The water level is at 538 today and that is up 4 ft from the beginning of April. The lake above walls boat ramp was full of floating debris. I lost my thermometer last month so I didn't take any water temps but I am told that the water was in the mid 60s F.

I am sure that the water temps have risen since last wed. We had daytime highs of 90 deg in Evansville, IN Friday. It been hot the last three days and not rain so the water temps should have risen.

With the price of gasoline I can't afford to fish as much. It cost me 22 bucks to fill my tank where it use to only cost me 12 bucks.

The fish were shallow but I only fished the upper reaches of the lake. Not sure what the fish were doing in the main lake or other reachs of Patoka.

I caught fish from 2ft down to 4ft. I fished at 8ft and dont' remmber catching any. All the crappie I caught were small. I am starting to wonder if there are any big crappie in the lake but I know they are there. I just can't find them.
Maybe you will have better luck.

[Indy-Travis]

Moose, not any better. We concentrated on the main lake and the water was not clear but better than the river. We caught plenty of small fish, and marked what we think were the larger ones in deeper water, but they would not bite. We caught quiet a few 12"+ fish in Patoka in March, so we know they are there, but the bigger ones were not interested. All the fish we caught were males, exept for one lone small female with eggs, and predominately, they were black crappie. I am wondering if the white's are done spawning. We have not done much post spawn fishing, but plan on trying it this summer. Not sure if it was post spawn, all the rain, or the whacky temps, or a combo of all of it, but something sure seemed to have them off the bite. I guess a weekend of fishing is better than a weekend of yardwork, anyway!

[jonhoosier]

Went fishing sunday for the day and it was slow. Found numerous fish holding between 4' to 8' in a few coves but they were not biting agressively. I caught 9 black crappie using a drop shot rig with just a minnow on it. I also tried jigs, spinners and using a float and caught nothing. The drop shot rig was from Gamakatsu. I would let the rig hit the bottom and then bring it up several cranks every few minutes. The water was a little stained and got worse as the day went on from all the boat traffic. Largest one I caught was about 9-10". I marked numerous large fish but they just would not bite. Three of the fish were females and still had eggs in them so the spawn has not happened as of yet but I would say that it is right around the corner.

[Indy-Travis]

Jon, how is your drop shot rig rigged? Is it a pre-rigged Gamakatsu thing, or do you tie a hook(s) above a weight yourself? Just curious, I never have drop rigged before, but imagine that will be the method of choice for the post spawn crappie fishing down there. We also talked about trying some night fishing with a light, which I also have never done before. I am looking forward to trying some new things.

[jonhoosier]

was a pre made one I found at wal-mart one day on clearence. I first tried drop shot fishing last year at Patoka and caught several slabs that went over 1-1 1/2lbs each. My nephew also caught a slab that went almost 4 lbs. The rigs have about 2-3 feet on either side of the hook and if you find any in the store I highly recommend them.

[Moose1am]

Hey guys:
Last November I started drop shot fishing for crappie and found a easy system. I purchased some Finess Drop Shots of various sizes from Bass Pro Shops. These have a wire that is attached to the lead which attaches to the fishing line easily. You tie on a jig about 18" above the end of the fishing line with a palmar knot and then just attach the drop shot weight to the very end of the tag line. You leave a tag line of about 18" after tying the jig on the fishing line. I add a squirmin squirt jig body to the jig and then add a chartrues crappie nibble.

Having the lead weight at the very bottom on the rig allows you to probe the bottom while keeping the jig above the bottom or above any brush piles.

Also having the jig between the end of your rod and the drop shot allows for better bite detecting. The drop shot keep tension on your fishing line and helps transmit any bites to the rod and to your hands so that you can set the hook quicker.

It's a very effective method.

Also if you use a long 12ft pole you can easily adjust the fishing dept from 20ft to 6". I use the long pole to measure how much line I have out. I then use the depth finder to see at what level the crappie are suspended and then adjust my fishing depth accordinly.

When trolling very slowly you keep the jig moving and also in the correct orientation.

Jon, how is your drop shot rig rigged? Is it a pre-rigged Gamakatsu thing, or do you tie a hook(s) above a weight yourself? Just curious, I never have drop rigged before, but imagine that will be the method of choice for the post spawn crappie fishing down there. We also talked about trying some night fishing with a light, which I also have never done before. I am looking forward to trying some new things.