Patoka bass update as of late June??

[Moveon]

Anyway, my old standby spots for this time of year havent been producing as well as yerars gone by. The water is still low and very clear. If anyone is having any luck other than on main body drop offs , would love to hear about it!!

When you have very gin clear water the fish can see your bait much better than if the water is really muddy or turbid.

I'd go ultra light during the heat of the day. Bill Dance fished the old River Channel out by the main lake's two Islands and caught over 100 bass in just one day for his fishing show about Patoka Lake. I wonder if that episode is now on the internet? I might try to find that. This happened back right after the lake opened up. My God Father who lived in Indianapolis, IN sent me a copy of an news paper article that appeared in the Indianapolis star. That's how I learned about this feat.

I've used heavy jig heads and paddle tail baits at Patoka to catch Northern Pike and Bass in that spot. But I'm not that good at detecting the bite when the jig is falling throught the water column. You have to have a tight line to feel the bite or be able to see the line twitch when a fish inhales the jig while it's falling. That is hard to do for me. I don't see so good. LOL

I wonder if using fluorocarbon lines that have the same Refractive Index as water make a big difference in the bite? I fish a type of fluorocarbon line in P-Line Floroclear.

Also if you fish before the sun comes up it helps. Dad and I fished KY lake all the time in years past and we always got up at 4 AM to get the early morning bite.

I know a guy who used to fish the strip pits at night with short rods and crank baits. He has a lot of big bass stuffed and hanging on his basement walls.

I've been know to fish with 2 lb test strene when fishing for crappie. I started fishing ultra light gear many years ago and noticed that I caught a lot more fish.

A fish's brain is more devoted to SMELL than sight. The part of the brain that processes smell is larger. But fish still have pretty good eye sight. They also don't have eyelids which means that they can't close their eyes to get away from the bright sun. A calm summer day on the lake allows more sunlight to filter down into the depths. And clear water allows even more light waves to reach deeper into the water. Fish response to this by going deep and suspending during the hot summer dog days of summer. Follow their food at Patoka and you will find the bass when they are feeding.

It's been shown that shad make daily migrations out of the back of bays in the morning and back into the bays at night. Bass follower their food just like wolves follow the caribou.

I've not heard from my friend who fishes Patoka all the time. I'll have to give him a call and see what his been up to. I called him and found out that he has not been fishing as he took a new job back in April. He's working in a Sheet Metal Shop now. He was going to retire early an fish the rest of his life. LOL. But baby needs a new pair of shoes and momma wants more money.

Good luck up there. at Patoka. If I were up there right now I'd be trolling crank baits for bass and crappie. You can eliminate a lot of water using maps of the lake and trolling helps to find the fish ever faster.

These are two of the LM bass I've caught while trolling crank baits on some stripper pits.