Need Patoka Help

Good luck man! I'm not sure about Patoka but like any lake this time of the year the warmer water is the key. Warmer water is found in areas that get the most sunlight. Also follow the wind as the warmer water is at the surface and the surface water is blown towards the downwind parts of the lake if the winds been blowing consistently for a long time. North banks with Southern Exposures and area with a darker bottom in shallow waters heat up faster than the cold deep waters.

A fish burns more energy in warmer water and thus needs more food. So the most active fish will be found in the warmer waters this time of year. March.

The guys I talked to yesterday who caught all the big crappie and bass were fishing in only 4 ft of water along the bank.

If I were still bass fishing I would head to the very back of the flats at the back of the bays and fish shallow running baits and or worms or anything that resembles a crawdad.

The waters still pretty cold. Well below 50 deg F at the surface.

You probably have a good map of Patoka Lake so look that over and find various spots in different sections of the lake and then plan on fishing different spots depending on which way the winds are going to be blowing. Check the weather maps and see where the highs (clockwise rotation) and lows (counter-clockwise rotation) to figure out which way the winds going to blow. But one thing I can tell you about Patoka Lake is that the hills make the wind direction change a lot. Winds swirl around up at places like Dumplin Creek. Which might be a good area to try. Dumplin Creek holds big crappie this time of the year as does the upper river area of the Patoka River. But be careful up in that area as there are lots of standing timber that tops out just below the water's surface. The River channel up in that area is narrow. And it winds around or meanders and it's hard to follow unless the water's way down to winter pool. 532 ft. Walls Boat Ramp and Kings Boat ramp are the two closest ramps to Dumplin Creek. Kings is a gravel ramp and I've never seen it from the road. I saw it from the boat one time when fishing with a friend up that way on the River. Walls is a good ramp but it's isolated. Don't keep valuables in your vehicle when parking up there due to the isolation. But this time of the year there should be a lot more people at the ramp coming and going at times. Early morning and late afternoon when fishermen are launching and recovering. But there won't be much other traffic on that road as there is around the other ramps. Which is what I mean by it's isolated.

Another area to fish is Painters Creek. Then there is Lick Fork area to the SW of the lake. Lots of big fish are caught in the Lick Fork and Painters Creek area. There is more deep water in the Lick Fork and Painters Creek area. Painters Creek leads right out to the main park of the lake. When is early in the year and calm I'd fish that deep area where the creek runs into the main River Channel. There use to be a town there before the lake was flooded. Find out where Newton was and look for the remains of that old town. Big bass like to swim around areas like that. I know because I've seen them doing that while scuba diving in lake with old submerged buildings in the lake.

Good luck and remember. Any day out on the water is better than a day at work! ;)

[QUOTE=stevec;529960]any of you guys have some advice for somebody who's only been on the lake once...I have a BFL tournament there Saturday...email me if you don't want it to be public info,...lol [EMAIL="[email protected]"][email protected][/EMAIL][/QUOTE]