Reservation Number : 23091
Property Name : Lake Side
Reservation Date : 02/28/2020 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 1
Lures Used : multiple

I fished Lake Side Martin's Mill Saturday from 7:30 until 2:30 pm. The water is still murky with a visibility of 6-8" by disc. There is beginning to be some algae growth on the surface around the shoreline. The attached photo shows the algae bloom where I retrieved a lure thru it. The air temp was 34 on arrival and 66 when I left. The water temperature was 50 degrees on arrival and 51 at departure. The sky was cloudless and the wind, 5 or so from the north. 

All the fish were suspended at about 7-8 feet at the dam end of the lake (and there are a number of fish there!). I did not find any fish on the brush or timber that I could resolve, even with mega imaging. 

I boated a single dink in the early afternoon, that on a dropshot with a green pumpkin trick worm. 

I used the usual assortment of murky water lures including colorado bladed spinner bait, chatter bait, crank bait, lipless crank baits of several rattle types, swim jigs with various trailers and underspin attachments, all without success. I tried light and dark colors, large and small lure sizes and various trailers. I beat the banks and brushpiles with wacky worms and T-rigged worms with and without a trailing colorado spinner. I did not bring any jigging spoons but made due by "jigging" all my lures in the suspended fish to no avail.

I finally rigged a drop shot to place the worm in the depth of the suspended fish and got a single fish in just over an hour of using the rig. (I must admit by this time I was even considering using a slip bobber and a wacky worm)!

The fish was about 11" and weighed about 14 oz which puts it at about the size by the TPW charts. The coloration was just a continuous pale green unlike the fish I have caught here before the dredging and murky waters, presumable adapting to the conditions?