Manmade Cover in Patoka Lake

[10fish]

Do fishermen sink there own cover in Patoka? Is it legal? Or is it sunk by local and federal authorities? Just wondering.

[Tom Sinnott]

That's a great question. I don't think it should be different about dumping one of those pvc fish structure deals and dumping old tires as far as littering goes... I know it's obviously not as bad... but to me there really isn't a difference when you take something foreign to what we are trying to preserve for our future not to mention something that takes hundreds of years to break down, not natural, and purposely dumping it in. I don't think it's really any different than hand feeding deer before you shoot them and call it hunting. I think if you own your own lake knock yourself out but it's about a sportsman like as dropping dynamite in the water.

I got curious and just looked it up and the Indiana DNR's website rules for "Fish attractor" states that "permanent" structures can't be placed in public lakes without a permit from the DNR but most of what everyone drops are the little pvc jungle gym looking deals and that wouldn't be considered permanent so I guess you can.......

[Tom Sinnott]

That being said it's also legal to marry your second cousin... but that doesn't mean you should try and pick up chicks at a family reunion!!! haha

[Crappieking1]

During the Spring Crappie USA pre-tournament meeting at Patoka, the DNR Game Warden told us that putting any structure in Patoka is highly illegal. They will not tolerate it at Patoka. I guess they have their reasons. Earlier this spring they caught a team that was fishing the classic putting structure in the lake. I think it was PVC stuck in buckets. I heard that they were now banned from the lake, and they have to pull out all the structure they had in there. That was coming from the full time lake guide.

I however do not agree with you Tom. Look at Kentucky lake for example. The lake is getting old enough now that it is starving for structure and without it the quality of the fishing would be going downhill. There are also organizations that put "habitat" in lakes all over the country to increase the size and quantity of the fish in the lakes.

In Illinois, the DNR puts structure out in many of their lakes to improve habitat. Just because it is there, does not mean you are littering or baiting a hole. There is a lot to be said about habitat. Many of our lakes here in Indiana do not have enough. You can pick up maps of Patoka and see that the DNR have already put out many fish attractors in the lake when they were building it. Crappie are a very structure oriented fish, and without the habitat, the fishing definitely goes down hill.

Good Luck!

[Tom Sinnott]

I agree with it being put in there, just not that anyone that wants to can do it. I read all the laws and info on it and didn't find anything that said you couldn't put attractors in any public lake including Patoka just not permanent ones. I try to fish structure all the time but feel that permission should be granted for it. I have never fished KY Lake myself but I think that Patoka still has plenty of structure in it with all the standing timber so for now any extra is just to give someone an edge and not to go find 'em.

[Crappieking1]

I have put out stuff in some of the lakes here in Indiana before. It is one heck of a lot of hard work. Some of those spots turned out not be worth a hill of beans, and some of them were very good. When you tournament fish a lot, it sure helps to be competitive by adding structure to productive areas, or experimenting to see if you can create a new spot.

Last year the Crappie USA Classic was at Kentucky lake, and many of the teams that finished high had been out all summer after they qualified putting out stake beds, and other structure. Some of the teams that did that had a lot of stake beds out didn't even finish that high.

We did not have any structure out, but we were able to find a lot of stake beds with the Humminbird Sidefinder and fish them. I understand where you are coming from as far as the feel of finding your own structure and spots. I used to feel like you. But once I put out structure and saw how hard it is to get it there, it gave me a completely different angle of seeing it.

Another way of looking at the PVC in the water is it is going to last forever and will help by being habitat that won't rot away. The pipe is not toxic, it is used for drinking water lines in many homes and businesses.

I totally agree, Patoka has plenty of structure in it currently and probably doesn't need anything anyway. It definitely compares to the Masters course in golf for fiishing. Very tough to figure out at times, with huge rewards.

Good Luck to you Tom!

[gone_fishing]

PVC and tires don't break down like wood does. I think I would have to consider them to be permanent even though it may be possible to remove them.

I haven't read the regulations word for word but I did write dnr and they sent me back an email saying its illegal to sink anything in Patoka Lake. If I remmeber right the wording said all dnr managed properties.

I haven't fished any tournaments but I am surprised anyone fishing a tournament would do something that is illegal. Isn't there a lie detector test taken for the top finishers? I had heard there was maybe not. It seems that would be a good question to ask a tournament fisherman.

Personally I would love to see DNR relax the regulation on placing habitat in the lake. And that is exactly what it is habitat. If it were placed in idle zones only I don't see where it would create major problems.

Enough habitat? How can one determine enough? I don't think I have ever seen too much habitat.

[Crappieking1]

gone fishing, I am pretty sure that this is a gray area here in Indiana. If you talk to the DNR, they claim if you let the property manager of the lake know, and mark it on a map, you can do it. Some of them say it is okay, others won't let you. I just know that at Patoka they told us at the spring meeting that nothing can be added to the lake.

I have done so at Monroe, along with many others. One time I even had a Conservation Officer climb in my boat and even asked why I had bailing wire, buckets and other items.

I did not lie, I told him and he didn't say a word. So, who knows. You are correct, they do have a lie detector, and they ask if you broke any laws or rules, but if you did it before you knew of the ban, then what would be your answer?

I know most states encourage and definitely don't make a huge issue to put in habitat. I think things like Old tires would be littering no matter where you are. But PVC pipe is not a potentially hazard to the water, so I don't see what the beef with it is.

have a great day and good luck!

[Tom Sinnott]

lol No beef at all, I was just being sarcastic about the tires... lol Just saying that in my opinion there shouldn't be a difference between the two materials as far as the rules go if it's going to be in there for eternity. Christmas trees and what not are cool because they break down really fast, or structures made of wood but I think that some things should be kept pristine if we can. I know that PVC is safe but just not what should be put in the lakes to last for a thousand years so a guy can have a secret spot on a public lake and end up just fishing off of it for 10 years... I'm totally not a tree hugger type by any means so I really don't mean to sound like it. Just a guy with an opinion...

[Crappieking1]

Tom,
I just read my last post and I sounded angry when I read it. That is not it at all, we just have a weird DNR that makes some of our rules as clear as some of the muddy lakes we have had this year.

good luck to you!!