What Gator said and would like to add that spring/early summer is good time to fish it. Pleasure boaters on this lake make me nervous. There should be a speed limit.
Joe
Back when I was a kid we use to fish the high current areas we would use live bait and drop them with a carolina or drop shot method. To do this we use to anchor close or into the high current area and throw 90 degrees from the boat in out of the high current area. The line always ends up in the back of the boat and the swinging motion usually triggered a bite. We were targetting smallies (back then) with this method, but I use this same concept in local rivers with less current and depth and I catch eyes this way.
I know trolling is the gig for covering water but like Kevin said. Good luck. I wish the islands were closer so I could hit them more often.
I guess it depends on how young the kids are but my kids are 8 and 9 and I would take them up the channel and bobber fish with worms or gulp bait for pan fish. If you want to get SM bass, they are definitely in the bay but it always takes me a little while to pattern them. This is not good for most of today's youth. My son get's bored when the fish do not bite right away. If your kids are willing to cast and retrieve constantly, I have done well with (blue fox) silver/black spinners and have caught everything from pumpkinseeds to northerns on the same rod. To catch chains, use spinner baits around the bridge out in the bay and even up the channel. Largemouth are typically around the bridge and the tressel but that is just part of it. You can catch them everywhere.
I guess it depends if you are after big or numbers. Pan fishing can be fun. That is what I look for when I take my kids. Good luck, I hope the wind helps you, and have fun.
definitely wacky in Green Pumpkin. Shallow water - no weight and let it sink. Really good in zero wind conditions and obvious pockets. This is the only color I use and I use with a no 2 or 1/0 and a O-ring to keep the little fish from ripping it off.
Hope you didn't leave yet.
You got the right bait style but get you some more colors. I like Black, green Pumpkin/chartreuse, plum and blue (and motor oil). If the water has a lot of color to it with full sun, try a moccassin or red shad color. It has the black to outline and has a lot of reflection too. Early morning sun go with Blue but the pan fish are going to rip the tails off.
Get you some perch flavored spinner baits for toothy critters.
Beetle spin for the pan fish (or live bait)
That is an awesome place to fish. Enjoy it.
Pissin match for sure.
Social Theorem: Theory of Relativity - Everyone judges their surroundings based on where they are standing in there little place in the world.
Two things I noticed reading this thread is that people are not communicating properly. 1.) No self respecting man likes to be talked down to & 2.) When you start calling people names and doing an impersonation of the mentalist talking about who they are and what they stand for, your argument loses its merrit.
The lake will set up soon - good luck everyone.
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Plueger President - I would go with a 7' medium. Best balanced rod I have seen in this price range. You can find them in any store, I just knew that I would find it quicker in cabelas. Good luck,
Joe