Patoka lake

[Sore Thumb II]

Yeah there was a current but where i think where i mess up was the lake was 4-5feet above SUMMER POOL and i should have been fishing in about 25-30 foot of water i think that is where they were cause of thats where they should be at winter pool

[Hoover28]

Hopefully the weather changes soon, I'll be heading down there mid-April. So we'll see what happens. I hear fishing off main lake points is your best bet this time of year. I will probably stay fairly deep depending on the water temp.

[Moose1am]

If I were a betting man I would predict that the lake will warm up faster rather than slower this spring. But you never know about the weather these days.

April 1st I would be upstream in the headwaters of the lake. The back end of Painter Creek, Little Patoka River, Patoka River and Lick Fork will be good for prespawning and or spawning crappie in early april.

Depending on the water temperature, water color and the amount of wind effects the crappie will be spawning on the same spawning areas that they used the years before. Unless the lake drops drastically or rises drastically from historial levels.

I had dafadills popping out of the ground in Dec this winter. It got cold after than but when it's that warm in Dec and when we have had a mild winter (relatively speaking) I think that the crappie will be spawning in Later March or Early April this year. But I could be wrong. LOL

But they will be seeking good bottom, calm areas and warm water to lay their eggs like they do every year. The timing of the spawn depends on mother nature. So keep your eyes on the water temperature and the amount of sunlight we are gettting.

Being on the internet gives us a huge advantage. We can talk to others who fish to the south of us and figure out that when they start catching shallow crappie with eggs in them that we won't be far behind. For ever hundred miles to the south it may take a week longer to warm up the water up here. For example in Arkansas and Lousiana the crappie may already be ready to spawn. If you hear someone from Northern or Central Arkansas talking about the Bradford Pears in bloom you know that they are catching crappie with eggs in them. And in two weeks we will be warm enough to see the blooms on the bradford pears too. I watch my neighbors bradford pear trees to see when they are budding and getting ready to bloom. And I watch the dogwoods for buds. When they form buds the crappie here will be ready to start moving into the spawning areas. Remember that there may be many differnet spawning areas for the fish to use and that not all the crappie will spawn at the same time. And that there may be different fish populations in Patoka Lake. There maybe some big slabs that spend their entire life on the main lake. But there may be populations on the main lake that migrate up the river to the upper reaches of the lake to spawn.

I know that in KY lake the fish come up out of the main lake areas and into the creeks like Blood River, Cypress Bay, Sled Creek and the famous Jonathon Creek.

I would look for deep main lake crappie to be spawning in May or if it's a really cold spring this year as late at early June. The main lake takes much longer to warm up and it's very clear water. The crappie may spawn on deep submerged underwater humps on the main lake or around the islands or long points. And they will come up out of the river bed and go a short 300 yards into a small creek to spawn. You can find them stagging in the 10 to 18 ft depths between the old river bed and the back in if this creek. And you can catch them in this area almost all year long too. I know that the fishing guide Tim Gibson fishes this area all the time. I have seen him come into the area when I was fishing it with my friend. It's a very popular spot. I don't fish it anymore but I am glad that I have the knowledge of where it's at and why it's a good spot to fish even in Nov.