Tyme's results at Patoka Lake 4/15/2013

[Moveon]

Congratulations. That the first few weeks in April Patoka Lake Pattern. Fish must still be in prespawn stage and getting ready to feed before heading into the back of the bay to spawn in the shallow were. They come up out of the River channel and stage in the bay before heading back to the shallows and banks.

I wish there was a way to get rid of more of those little crappie. As it appears that Patoka lake is becoming overcrowded.

Still from my experience the 8" to 10" crappie are fat and good eating. Unlike KY Lake they need to get rid of more crappie at Patoka Lake. Then the ones that are left will grow bigger as they will have more food. At least that the theory that the Fishery Biologist for the Patoka Lake area uses for other lakes.

Glad you have a good time and caught some fish too.

We arrived at Walls Lake ramp about 1015 hours. Headed in to Dumplin Creek Bay and fished in mostly 12' of water. Water temp around 60 degrees.Set bobbers to a depth of 10' to 11'. We adjusted depth but most bites were deep.

We must have caught over 90 crappie between the three of us. However, only 3 keepers. The ones we kept were 12". All others were released because of their small length. Only caught a few that we debated about keeping but I talked Knute (The Heathen) into releasing some 8" to 9" fish.
Mrs.Tyme and myself used minnows while Knute (The Heathen) was using a crappie jig.

There was no rhyme or reason on a pattern. Most of the fish were in "open" water and not hugging the obvious stumps. Maybe there were submerged stumps that we did not know about.

Nothing up shallow. If we weren't in 12" of water, no bites not even the small guys.

Trolling motor worked all day long and that's good because of the wind we had today. The powers that be were also releasing a lot of water. The lake came down about 4 to 6 inches while we were there.

Left for the return trip home about 1800 hours.

All in all, it was a nice day on the water. Didn't get rained on,caught some fish, and no equipment breakdowns.

[King31]

Congratulations. That the first few weeks in April Patoka Lake Pattern. Fish must still be in prespawn stage and getting ready to feed before heading into the back of the bay to spawn in the shallow were. They come up out of the River channel and stage in the bay before heading back to the shallows and banks.

I wish there was a way to get rid of more of those little crappie. As it appears that Patoka lake is becoming overcrowded.

Still from my experience the 8" to 10" crappie are fat and good eating. Unlike KY Lake they need to get rid of more crappie at Patoka Lake. Then the ones that are left will grow bigger as they will have more food. At least that the theory that the Fishery Biologist for the Patoka Lake area uses for other lakes.

Glad you have a good time and caught some fish too.

Out of the 10 times or so I've crappie fished Patoka in the last couple years, my dad and I have never caught one over 11 inches. I guess it has a lot to do with how shallow we fish. That being said we are doing our part of cleaning out the small ones. Saturday 4/13 caught 29 and brought home every one of them. They are just as big or bigger than a lot of bluegills I have cleaned in my time. They taste the exact same as a big one too. Good Luck and any advice is appreciated!

[Tyme2fish]

I guess the slab crappie I'm used to catching at Lake Barkley and some Florida lakes has me prejudiced against anything under 9 inches. I was surprised to read the regulations and find out there is no size limit on crappie in Indiana.

We caught a lot of 7 to 9 inch crappie at Patoka but I released all of them.

No disrespect to those that keep the small ones. My filleting skills aren't that great on small fish and I stopped scaling and gutting them years ago.

We'll probably try again after these rains stop.

[Moveon]

Years ago I started using an electric fillet knift to clean my fish. It makes the job so much faster and easier.

I also like to clean the bigger fish. When they get to around 12" they are easier to fillet.

Since I am not suppose to eat fried food anymore I don't keep and eat as many crappie as I use to. I bake the fish in an oven these days or grill them on the gas grill outside. Just wrap them up in aluminum foil and add butter and lemon juice to them before wrapping them up in the foil. It's not a tasty as when they are fried in a good batter but it's much healthier to eat.

I still have frozen fish fillets in my freezer from last year. I probably need to replace them as they are probably freezer burned by now.

I'm thinking about going today but it may rain a lot today. So I'm still trying to decide what to do.

I guess the slab crappie I'm used to catching at Lake Barkley and some Florida lakes has me prejudiced against anything under 9 inches. I was surprised to read the regulations and find out there is no size limit on crappie in Indiana.

We caught a lot of 7 to 9 inch crappie at Patoka but I released all of them.

No disrespect to those that keep the small ones. My filleting skills aren't that great on small fish and I stopped scaling and gutting them years ago.

We'll probably try again after these rains stop.

[Tyme2fish]

Yes, an electric fillet knife is the only way to go. I do sometimes remove the rib bones from the fillet with a regular fillet knife.

I tend to loose "feel" with the electric knife on the initial cut to the backbone and cutting down the length of the fillet. Can't tell you how many fish I've had to start over from the tail fin. Practice,practice,practice.

I still remember when my father and I would clean a big mess of bluegill. I'd do the scaling and he'd cut the heads,fins, and entrails out. As a boy, we never filleted fish. I still remember sitting at the dinner table pulling the meat off the fish carcass. A lot of folks like the taste and texture of the skin on a bluegill.

It wasn't until we starting making trips to Canada in my late teen years to catch walleye that my dad learned how to fillet and I naturally observed his technique.

I much prefer filleted fish and I'm very careful in inspecting my fillets to assure no bones remain.

I find it's much easier to clean my fish after they have been on ice for some time. Easier to handle and "firmer".

Health issues aside, I prefer my fish fried. I never acquired the taste for baked or grilled fish. Guess it's what I grew up with.

[King31]

Scaling and filleting is the only way to go. There are a few times when we will skin and then fillet them. Never have used an electric but I'm sure they are very efficient.

[SteveM4A1]

I prefer a traditional fillet knife vs electric, just because I can't feel as good with the electric and will get more bones in the fillets. Of course, I fillet a lot of smaller fish (only ones I can catch haha), and like fishing lakes with slot limits, because I find those 10" bass are just delicious

[Moveon]

Yes. I love eating those 10" to 12' long bass. But I can't keep them where I fish. The size limits are 18" on two of the lakes I fish and 15" on the others small lake. I don't bass fish at Patoka Lake much as I mostly fish for crappie there.

But when I do fillet my crappie I sheer off the fillets with the electric Rapalla Fillet knife and then afterwards I cut out the bones from the fillets. I also remove some of the belly fat in the process.

If I didn't cut out the bones it would be very fast just using the electric knife. I get the skin off the fillets using the electric knife while they are still attached to the fish.

I prefer a traditional fillet knife vs electric, just because I can't feel as good with the electric and will get more bones in the fillets. Of course, I fillet a lot of smaller fish (only ones I can catch haha), and like fishing lakes with slot limits, because I find those 10" bass are just delicious