For additional information, contact Brookville Reservoir at (765) 647-2657, local guide Tag Knobbe at the 52 Pik-Up in Brookville at (765) 647-3600, or the DFW's District 5 office at (765) 342-5527.

PATOKA LAKE LARGEMOUTH BASS
Patoka is a great bass lake in the warmer months and just as good a fishery when the leaves are turning colors. The lake isn't a numbers lake, but it has more 15- to 20-inch bass than any other water in this part of Indiana. According to fisheries biologist Dan Carnahan, the catch rate for 15-inchers is very good with a lot of 18-inch fish thrown into the mix. Bass in Patoka are also topping the 20-inch mark. Tournament results last year included several bass measuring from 19 to 20 inches. During the spring months of 2007, fish topping the 22-inch mark were taken that weighed in at 6 to 7 pounds.

Local angler Jeff Miley of Jeff's Bait and Guns in Jasper has caught two 8-pounders and one that pushed the 9-pound mark.

Bass fishing in the fall picks up dramatically as the water cools and the bucketmouths start packing it away for the long winter months ahead. The females are also putting on weight to help sustain them during the spring spawn and in the development of eggs.

The fall turnover occurs at this time of the year, usually between the last week of September and the second week of October. Fishing can be tough during this period, as oxygen that had kept the bass above the thermocline at 14 to 18 feet disperses throughout the water column; hence, the bass can be anywhere from the bottom to the surface.

The same structure that held bass in the early spring will be good for the waning months of the year. The standing trees and fallen timber in the creek inlets and the shallower bays are bass magnets.

The Walls Ramp, Southwick Fork and the Little Patoka River can be hotbeds of activity. Weedbeds harbor a lot of the bass at this time of the year, but these areas are tough to get baits and lures through.

If fishing tournaments results are any indication of the kind of bassing that Patoka offers, this lake is a keeper. Last year the average weigh-in bass was 3 pounds and measured over 17 inches. Big bass weights went up to over 7 pounds and averaged over 5 pounds.

According to Carnahan, it used to take tournament anglers well over 200 hours to hook an 18-inch fish. Things have improved dramatically, and last year it took less than 44 hours. Patoka possessed the best average tournament bass weights and took the fewest hours to connect with an 18-inch or larger fish than all the other tournament waters reporting in 2008.

There is a 15-inch minimum length limit in effect.