Patoka Update

[topwater2007]

Patoka Larry,

I was down there at the end of October and seen a lot of stripers dead and seen a pod up in the rocks and couldn't get them to bite. I called the DNR and they said they had a kill off when the lake turned over due to the lack of oxygen level in the lake this summer was too hot and low oxygen.

It wasn't a total kill off of course, but a concern non-the-less.

We caught some good bass on the main lake, but nothing up in the arms and coves which I was baffled why they weren't up in the coves.

Anyway, I will fish the lake again next year.

[skeeter sf150sx]

I heard from a striper guide at poor boys that the state came in and did some kind of survay on the stripers. I don't know if the netted them or shocked them or what but they did handle them in some way which stressed alot of strippers out and ended up killing them. I went up ther the first weekend in october and was dodging strippers left and right when running from one spot to another. They were floating all over the main lake. It wasn't because the water turned over to fast. or we would of seen other speices of fish floating.

[small boat basser]

Wasn't the DNR. It was a combination of the summer drought combined with low D.O. during the turnover. Same thing happened at the same time on Monroe with the hybrids. Hybrids and stripers have very particular water conditions they need to survive. They need high D.O. and cool water temperatures. When they can't get them they suffer. It happens...

[raporter]

Wasn't the DNR. It was a combination of the summer drought combined with low D.O. during the turnover. Same thing happened at the same time on Monroe with the hybrids. Hybrids and stripers have very particular water conditions they need to survive. They need high D.O. and cool water temperatures. When they can't get them they suffer. It happens...

This is a common occurance with stripers in lakes like Patoka.

[topwater2007]

It wasn't because the water turned over to fast. or we would of seen other speices of fish floating.

Skeeter, I guess you couldn't understand what I was trying to say. I called the DNR biologist and I was told that there was a partial striper kill in Cecil Harden, Monroe, and Patoka.

This was caused when the lake turned over. NOT because it turned over too fast, but because of the hot summer, the lower level under the thermocline had no oxygen in it. When these lakes turned over, it caused a low oxygen shortage in the entire water column.

Stripers and hybrids have a low tolerance of a lack of oxygen. That is why you didn't see the largemouth and catfish die off.

I hope that clarified the post that I made. The DNR is not in the business of mishandling fish and causing attrocities.

Anyway, Patoka is one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever fished, due to the government owning the land all around. I liked it.

[psprowler]

Hey Larry while you were out in the rain on Sunday I was up at the creek in the rain wearing them out on the float'n'fly. I got 10 total including a 19 inch smallmouth. The saturday before I got 3 back at the quarry best was a 17.25 incher. You're ready for some float'n'fly aren't you? I know Dustin is.

[PL]

Since dustin got married I think he's got a case of that hen pecked disease. Seems he don't have much time to go fishing......chuckle chuckle

I was going today but it's raining outside right now. Maybe it'll move though soon and I can hit the lake for a little while. Lots of nice smallmouth in patoka and I've never tried the Float&Fly there. We talked about doing it but never have. We are going to make it to the ISC show this time. Last year we had to work day and night.

Larry

Hey Larry while you were out in the rain on Sunday I was up at the creek in the rain wearing them out on the float'n'fly. I got 10 total including a 19 inch smallmouth. The saturday before I got 3 back at the quarry best was a 17.25 incher. You're ready for some float'n'fly aren't you? I know Dustin is.