Patoka Info

[Moose1am]

I checked the COE water level site for Patoka lake twice this week. Earlier in the week it was at 547.3 but yesterday it had dropped to 546.X. So the COE was letting water out though the dam.

This rain is bound to fill the lake back up. I posted a link to the corp of engineers web site where you can find links to the lakes water levels and flow though rates, precipitation rates in the area and water temperatures at certain times of the year.

I just read the weather forecast for today and tomorrow. It's going to be warmer today (Friday) than on Saturday (tomorrow). Saturday it's suppose to get really cold after this cold from comes though. Air temps will drop from the 60's down to the Upper 30's Saturday night.

Here is the Evansville, IN area we had a lot of rain last night. I saw on the TV radar Map on Channel 14 that the Huntingbugh Area was being hit by heavy thunderstorms last night. So they must have gotten a lot of rain too.

The guys that win the Patoka Crappie USA tournament this weekend will have to work hard for their fish.

One key thing that I learned this year by watching the FLW bass tournament down in Florida's Kissimmi Lake. SP? They had a cold front come though the area during the tournament but they were still finding the BIG bass in the shallow waters. But they were hiding in the thick grass mats. They buried deep into the grass mats. I think that they were hiding from the increased sunlight that happened after a cold front passes though. Water temperatures and water pressure changes due to the high pressure air above the water would make me think that those big bass would head to the deeper water. But that was not the case. I don't know this lake very well so maybe there is no really deep water where the fish can get out of the sunlight. But, I don't think that being in shallow water was due to the change in air pressure above the lake. Looks like these fish were hiding in the shadows of the weed mats. Now maybe that water is crystal clear down there and that's their only relief form the bright sunlight? But I know that the surface waters had to cool down when the sudden drop in air temperatures. Now remember that cold water will sink below warmer water. So the water at the surface when it cools down quickly may just sink down into the lake until it hits water of it's own temperature. This will give the lake some vertical mixing as the cold water drops though warmer waters maybe.

But these Bass Fishing Pros were catching some nice bass up in the shallow waters after a cold front and that surprise me.

So I wonder if the cold front coming though will push the crappie out of the shallows and out onto the first drop off? With the water up so high that drop off will be higher up on the shoreline than it would be at normal lake levels. So you might want to take pictures of the lake shorelines after the water levels drop down and located those higher elevation drop offs. That way if the water levels come back up the next year you will be able to find those higher elevation drop offs if the water ever comes back up this high again.

I read on the crappie.com web site that they have 65 teams preregistered to fish this tournament this year. That's a lot of boats on the water. Good luck to all the participants.

I would love to sit in on each team at the dinner table the night before and see what their strategy's will be for Saturday's event. LOL
That to me would be more fun and interesting that doing the actual fishing.

I bet with the hella storm we had last night the water is even higher. There were a few inched of standing water in the fields on my way to work this morning that were not there last night. I also saw the weather last night saying that we could be dipping back into the 40's.
Looks like it will be a bad spring for fishing. Just my luck, the first year in about 8 years that I have real solid time to throw at spring fishing and we get weather like this.

[MissinTheFishin]

I am heading to Beaver here in a few. I will let you know how it goes. I want to get out there before the cold air comes in and shoves them all back to the deeper water.
I hope that this sun we are getting now will keep them in the shore area coverage.
Good luck to anyone fishing this weekend.

[raporter]

Anyone fishing the crappie tourney tomorrow? Think I will go to the weighin just to see what they found. I fished it last year but have no desire to get out there this time. Wind and muddy water just takes the fun out of it.

[raporter]

I am heading to Beaver here in a few. I will let you know how it goes. I want to get out there before the cold air comes in and shoves them all back to the deeper water.
I hope that this sun we are getting now will keep them in the shore area coverage.
Good luck to anyone fishing this weekend.

You are a brave man gettin out in this wind. Good luck.

[MissinTheFishin]

I wasn't alone. I wasn't alone in coming hame empty handed either. Everyone I talked to caught nothing or very close to it. I caught one little guy that I didn't even know was on my hook till he hit the air in front of me.

Gonna be a sad spring indeed.
Let me know how the weigh in goes if you make it.

You are a brave man gettin out in this wind. Good luck.