Boat to small for patoka lake?

My 201 stratos will float in 18 inches. That is some skinney water.

Hey banjopicker,I've been fishing Patoka since I got my 16 foot mod john with a 9.8 merc (6years).If your bass fishin and you want to fish the main lake or the river just make sure your motor(electric and gas)are in good working order and you'll be fine.Don't get me rong it can get rough but you can go where you want.Holiday weekends are the worst.Use a little common sense and a lot of resolve.Assume nothing and pay attention.You'll be more aggravated than scared.

Thanks for all the advice... I'll have to get me a lake permit tag for my boat.. looks like lick fork ramp is right off 164 east of jasper.. i'll have to check it out..
thanks!

[QUOTE=LJP;366041]My 201 stratos will float in 18 inches. That is some skinney water.[/QUOTE]

I was thinking the same thing about my 201..........

I own a 1966 14' monarch semi-v. It's 50'' at the beam. If I pull the outboard out and keep the trolling motor on the deck, I can gaff my way around in less than a foot of water. I do it on the flats in the river and in the back of Painter's Creek all the time.

yea you can get up in those flats then. my 21XL floats about the same i would think, i have never measured it. typically, if i want to get somewhere and the trolling motor can't get me there, then gas motor down and force my way in. as long as its just mud/sand. can be a pain to get out sometimes tho

That'll get you there, but it does stir up water. I'll just float on in stealth wise. I'm not saying that you can't, cause bass boats are designed with that in mind, But if you have to force your way into a spot, don't you risk spooking fish and sucking mud up into your motor? Then the getting out part, isn't that a challenge all in it's own?

if its not that big of a flat, then you can cast across it fairly easy. if its big enough that you can't cast across, then i dont believe the fish get scared on the other side, but they could i guess. i will cast across shallows before i go up in them, kinda common sense.

I do agree with you. But, I'll use this as an example. My Fishin partener has a 20' bass boat. Last fall, I spent some time in the back of Painter's Creek. I had great luck in almost no water in my boat. A couple of days later we hit the same spot in his boat. Come to find out that I had my boat sitting where we were casting to. The water level didn't change. He couldn't get his boat near where I was bangin the fish up. We did everything we could to get his boat in that shallow. Couldn't get it there. We caught fish, but missed alot of fish cuz we couldn't hit that water. I know that bass boats are designed for stability and to float shallow water, but I have done it on countless occasions, sat in skinny water caught fish, had bass boats eyein me catch fish, do everything they could do to get in where I was, and couldn't do it. They always ran out of water. I do appologize about gloating a little about that. That's not my intentions. Believe me, I would like a bigger boat. They definately have there advantages.

haha you weren't gloating man, so don't worry about it. I was just simply stating I have never had a case that I couldn't get to water that I've tried to get to. I don't fish Painter's Creek (maybe once ever) so I cannot say whether I could get on those flats or not. I was just pointing out that if a bigger boat wants to get there, they usually can. Most just don't try if they can't get there with the trolling motor up.

Cool it's only paint. You should try Painter's Creek out. As a whole, it has everything. It's a good area, and I think it is overlooked alot of times. Not just the back, but the whole thing. From shallow to deep, it is a good area. Catch a lot of good fish and not really moving a lot. Flats, points, clay, rock, channels, wood, and other feeder creeks going out. Work it.