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Patoka Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Southern Indiana's timbered gem: big bluegill are the local crown.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Lake level
540.44 ft 4.44 vs pool
Air / High
98 / 98 F
Wind
WNW 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03374498, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Patoka Lake locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. The gauge reads 540.44 ft, 4.44 ft above pool, easing 0.44 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind WNW around 4 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 98. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Fair

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassSlow

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassSlow

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 99 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from PATOKA LAKE NEAR CUZCO, IN.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03374498. Conservation pool is 536 ft.

537.04538.99540.93pool 536540.44 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp98 F
High / Low98 / 73 F
WindWNW 4-7 mph
Pressure1013.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset07:18 / 20:12
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 98/73 F, wind 6 mph, rain 4%

Fair or better. Calm and stable: plan around the solunar majors at dawn and dusk.

Species guide

The species that matter on Patoka Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Patoka Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Patoka Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 97 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Indiana requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Bluegill liberal; bass 14-inch/5; walleye 16-inch. Confirm with Indiana DNR.

Access

Newton-Stewart SRA ramps, South Ramp; marina rentals.

About this water

8,800 acres on the Patoka River, Dubois/Crawford/Orange counties, IN. Corps, impounded 1978.

Fishing Patoka Lake: the full guide

Small state, real fishery

Patoka's 8,800 timbered acres pack quality across the board: largemouth in the standing wood, crappie on brush, walleye stocked and growing: but ask a local and they will brag about the bluegill: genuinely big, bedding in numbers each May. Uncrowded, scenic and legitimate.

Bluegill benchmarks

Patoka's May bedding waves fill the timbered flats with bluegill worth measuring: 9-inch fish common, 10s real. Crickets under floats around the standing timber: catch, sort, repeat: Indiana's best pure panfish trip.

Timber bass tactics

The flooded forest holds a jig-and-worm largemouth game with a walleye-stocking bonus: work the tree lines on channel edges, especially where the Patoka River channel sweeps close. Fall shad migrations pull everything to the creek mouths.

Common questions

How good is Patoka bluegill really?

State-target good: biologists manage for 9-plus-inch fish and surveys deliver. The May full-moon beds are Indiana's quiet panfish pilgrimage.

Winter eyes and summer stripers of the timber

Patoka's walleye stocking matured into a legitimate cold-weather fishery: November-March, jigs tipped with minnows on the main-lake points and the dam riprap produce 16-24-inch fish while the crowds are gone. Summer shifts the attention to open water: the flooded forest's edges hold suspended crappie, and trollers pulling harnesses along the old river channel catch walleye the bank crowd never sees.

Is there a horsepower limit on Patoka?

No general limit, but idle zones protect the upper timbered arms: the big-water section runs unrestricted. The quiet zones are where the kayak crappie fleet lives in spring.

Is fishing good at Patoka Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

Blue River21 miLake Monroe46 miRough River Lake55 miCagles Mill Lake77 miTaylorsville Lake80 miNolin River Lake81 mi
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