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Patoka Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Patoka Lake: an 8,800-acre southern Indiana reservoir with ten launch ramps, stocked walleye and hybrid striped bass, and no outboard limit.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Lake level
537.98 ft 1.98 vs pool
Air / High
71 / 71 F
Wind
NE 6 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Patoka Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The gauge reads 537.98 ft, 1.98 ft above pool, easing 0.49 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 6 mph, steady pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 71. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:22 AM-12:22 PM and 10:50 PM-12:50 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

WalleyeGood

Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

Hybrid striped bassFair

Look for shad on flats with timber near creek channels and on windblown points; cast jigs and swimbaits where fish break the surface.

Tomorrow: Similar at 73 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Indiana requires a fishing licence, from $23.00 for residents. What a Indiana licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with DNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Indiana, read off the agency, are on the Indiana seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from PATOKA LAKE NEAR CUZCO, IN.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03374498. Conservation pool is 536 ft.

536.61537.75538.90pool 536537.98 ft09/2310/0210/1110/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp71 F
High / Low71 / 44 F
WindNE 6-7 mph
Pressure1023.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset08:03 / 18:57
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Patoka Lake this week

The best day on Patoka Lake this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:22 AM-12:22 PM and 10:50 PM-12:50 AM
Minor period
4:44 AM-5:44 AM
Sun
08:03 to 18:57
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

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: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: the spring shad spawn and fall; summer at dawn and dusk

A hatchery cross of striped bass and white bass, also called wiper or palmetto bass, stocked by state agencies into reservoirs and rivers as a sport fish that also eats gizzard shad. Schools roam open water after shad. Look for shad on flats with timber near creek channels and on windblown points; cast jigs and swimbaits where fish break the surface.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

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
Catfish (blue, channel)
Hybrid striped bass
Walleye
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 73 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 73 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 72 F, wind to 4 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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

Indiana fishing license. Walleye: 14-inch minimum south of State Road 26, 6 a day combined with sauger and walleye-sauger hybrids (IDNR). Other species: see the current Indiana Fishing Regulation Guide.

Access

Ten launch ramps; Hoosier Hills Marina, Patoka Lake Marina and Gilligan's Boats; state park entrance and launch fees.

About this water

An 8,800-acre reservoir on the Patoka River in Crawford, Dubois and Orange counties, Indiana, managed by the Division of State Parks; lake level from USGS 03374498.

Fishing Patoka Lake: the full guide

The lake

Patoka Lake covers 8,800 acres in Crawford, Dubois and Orange counties and is managed for recreation by Indiana's Division of State Parks, with ten launch ramps and entrance and launch fees. IDNR lists no outboard motor restrictions and names largemouth bass and channel catfish as the best fishing.

Stocked walleye and hybrids

IDNR stocks walleye and hybrid striped bass each year. In a fall supplemental survey biologists collected 9 young walleye and 23 hybrids; that year 150,000 hybrid fry were stocked in early May for the first time, on top of the annual fingerling stocking. Patoka lies south of State Road 26, so walleye must be 14 inches, with 6 a day in any combination of walleye, sauger and their hybrid.

Water level

USGS gauge 03374498 reports Patoka Lake's water level; it is the reading shown on this page.

Common questions

What is the walleye limit at Patoka?

Indiana's rule south of State Road 26: 14-inch minimum, 6 a day in any combination with sauger and walleye-sauger hybrids.

Is there a horsepower limit?

IDNR lists no outboard motor restrictions for Patoka Lake.

Which species does IDNR rate best here?

Largemouth bass and channel catfish.

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: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Blue River25 miLake Monroe46 miRough River Lake55 miCagles Mill Lake75 miTaylorsville Lake80 miNolin River Lake81 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 03374498 β€” PATOKA LAKE NEAR CUZCO, IN
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.4109, -86.6373 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.