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I've never bass fished Patoka and have heard mixed reviews. I've always stayed away because of the shallow water areas and clear water conditions (I'm terrible at fishing clear water). Is it worth trying to figure out? I fish Kentucky Lake and Barkley most of the time but it is jam packed with huge tournaments every weekend.
[QUOTE=jkelley1487;555867]I've never bass fished Patoka and have heard mixed reviews. I've always stayed away because of the shallow water areas and clear water conditions (I'm terrible at fishing clear water). Is it worth trying to figure out? I fish Kentucky Lake and Barkley most of the time but it is jam packed with huge tournaments every weekend.[/QUOTE]
When you fish the deeper waters the fish are less spooky and are further away from your boat. The water maybe clear on the bottom in the deeper waters but the fish feel more secure when they are in deeper water than in shallow waters.
Now when the sun is low in the sky as in the early morning the fishing in shallow waters can be good as well as in the later evening hours. But as the sun rises higher in the sky the clear water can have a larger effect on the fish. That's when lighter weight lines and smaller lures come into play in the clear shallower waters. Downsize is the way I handle fish in shallow waters.
If I want to catch bass at Patoka I fish the deeper edges of the timber where the creek channels go though the timbered areas. This is where you have to really watch your line for ticks or movement and set the hook quickly. If you see the line stop before the bait hits the bottom then set the hook. If you feel something different as you drag your lure along the bottom set the hook. It takes some time to learn to catch fish in deeper water. If you fish deep water long enough you will learn to tell when a fish picks up the bait and when it's just the lure hitting a rock or log. Bye fishing weedless baits and setting the hook a lot you will figure out when it's a fish biting and when it's not. Practice makes perfect.
Sight fishing in shallow clear waters is fun IMHO. I use to bass fish all the time and loved to fish with crank baits on KY lake. I fished with plastic worms on Patoka when it first opened and learned to worm fish there and on KY lake and Barkley lake in the 1960's.
Try a jig and pig on Patoka lake and fish the deeper structure where you can find lots of fish on the sonar.
The key to catching bass on Patoka lake is learning to feel the bait as it sinks down. Most bites come when the bait is falling. Keeping the line tight and having a sensitive rod helps you feel the bait as it sinks. Heavier baits sink faster and get down faster and are easier to feel. Lighter baits sink slower and are more enticing but take a long time to get down to the bottom in deeper water. I fish with the wind so that the wind does not put a bow in my fishing line. This makes it easier to feel the bait as it's falling and or being dragged or hopped across the bottom. You will know when a fish take the bait. Set the hook and do it fast. Fish gulp the bait up by flaring their gills and opening their mouth and sucking water into their mouth. And they can spit the bait back out just as fast so set the hook quickly and firmly. You might miss a few but you will start catching some larger fish in the deeper waters. By Deeper waters I'm talking about waters of 18 ft or deeper but not over 28 ft deep. In the summer months Patoka Lake develops a thermocline at around 25 to 30 ft deep and you won't find too many bass below the thermocline in the hot summer months. Only after the fall turn over will the bass be found in water deeper than 30 ft for the winter months and spring months. The thermocline will setup again next summer.
great post and thanks for the info.