Going on a fishing trip. Hope to give a report with pictures when I get back.

[Moveon]

I know what you mean about getting tickets. The very first time I went up river from Osborn ramp to Walls I got a speeding ticket for going 12 mph in a 10 mph zone by some smart ass DNR CO. I'll never forget that Orange County CO guy with the red hair. I didn't have a GPS unit to tell me my speed back in those days and my boat didn't have a speed odomer on it. So I could not tell how fast I was going. I was just going fast enough to get the front of my boat up. And the ironic thing is that I had been going very slow the entire way and had no clue that Walls ramp was just around the corner when I got tired of not getting there and sped up a bit. If I had waited anohter 2 minutes I would have seen the ramp and known where I was. As it turned out I got a ticket for 70 bucks and I swore that I would never fish that area again. That was way back in the late 1970's when I got the ticket.

I didn't fish the upper Patoka River Reaches of Patoka Lake until 2003 when I finally figured out where Wall's Boat Ramp was and how to get there. It's easier to fish Dumplin Creek if you drive up to Walls ramp and launch the boat there than it is to launch at the North Ramp and go up river by boat. Still I've only been fishing in the Upper Patoka River Section three times since the day I got my ticket. Two of those times were with a friend in his boat.

Well actually it's four times. I went up there to Dumplin Creek twice in my boat. April of 2003 and May of 2003.

There are some really big crappie caught up there in the spring as that water is warmer than the rest of the lake in early spring. And that water is more fertile too. Trouble with fishing for crappie up there is that you have to wade through hundreds of little ones to catch a few big ones. There are thousands of 4" crappie up there that you have to shake off your baits every few seconds. They are starving I guess and hungry as hell. I mean they will take your minnow off the hook the second your bait hits the water in some spots.

I took a friend up there once and we caught over 100 of those little crappie one day in May 2003.

But I also saw a guy who had many good sized crappie in his boat. All of them were over 1 lb and many were 1.5 or 2 lbs. I watched him put them back into the lake one by one and it was painful to see so many big crappie and know that I had not caught them myself. So I know that there are some big one swimming in this part of the lake in the spring.

Other's have caught big crappie up in this section of Patoka lake too. Many Crappie USA tournaments have been won by people fishing up there.

I learned about this area from reading the fishing information on my paper Fishing Hot Spot's Map. Look it up and see what that map says about this area. If you don't have a fishing hot spots paper map or a good digital map of Patoka Lake then you are out of luck. You used to be able to buy them at the Marina.

the river is ok, but they can take that 10 mph and shove it up their *%&. you can run most of the way up there if you know where to drive. im tired of either burning twice the fuel going slow or getting tickets. not worth it

[raporter]

Sorry to hear you got busted for 2 MPH over. That is rediculous. Do not have any feelings for those who totally disregard the speed limit though.

[Embrey]

Sorry to hear you got busted for 2 MPH over. That is rediculous. Do not have any feelings for those who totally disregard the speed limit though.

it should really be 20mph. not 10. less wake at 20 on plane, and less fuel. plus your boat isnt pointed at the moon and you can actually see where youre going.i could even live with 15. but 10 is the absolute worst speed in my boat. the dnr that got me was a total %$*hat.

[Moveon]

it should really be 20mph. not 10. less wake at 20 on plane, and less fuel. plus your boat isnt pointed at the moon and you can actually see where youre going.i could even live with 15. but 10 is the absolute worst speed in my boat. the dnr that got me was a total %$*hat.

You did see all the stumps and submerged trees in that area didn't you? If Not I'll post another picture or two so you don't tear your transom off your boat when your lower unit hits one of those thing when you are going 20 or 60 mph.

The reason I posted the first picture of those three big stumps while the water is low is so you can see them and know that they are there. They won't be easy to see when the water's back up to summer pool but they will still be there right below the water's surface ready to take out a boat's motor and transom. Just saying. Be very careful up in that area when you go faster than 10 mph. If the stumps don't get you the Conservation Officer's radar will.

[Embrey]

You did see all the stumps and submerged trees in that area didn't you? If Not I'll post another picture or two so you don't tear your transom off your boat when your lower unit hits one of those thing when you are going 20 or 60 mph.

The reason I posted the first picture of those three big stumps while the water is low is so you can see them and know that they are there. They won't be easy to see when the water's back up to summer pool but they will still be there right below the water's surface ready to take out a boat's motor and transom. Just saying. Be very careful up in that area when you go faster than 10 mph. If the stumps don't get you the Conservation Officer's radar will.

yeah i saw them. and theres a million more to go with it. i know where the 'highway' is in that whole river. after the last bend before kings bridge i settle down cause it can get difficult up there, but from walls down you shouldnt hit a thing if you know where youre at