anderson 2/13

I only had a couple hours this morning and I had my six-year old in the front hatch of my scupper pro.

we mostly explored as I'd never been to anderson (prettier than expected!)
but we did troll a shadrap for a bit,
toss a top water lure, sink a couple real-life white grubs and
otherwise goof with our equipment,
but we weren't too serious here.
no hits for us, but we had a good time. 
we did not sink, stick ourselves with hooks, get cold, etc. whew.

Crappie seemed imminent, but nobody really catching many it seems.  one banker trying across the bay
from the launch. he had minnows under a bobber, but had caught nothing when we went by.  I heard
a bass guy saying that people were switching to crappie just now, hardly anybody fishing for bass.

mol and mooch, there is a lot of submerged brush just to the left of the launch ramp. you'll only
need to paddle about 40 feet! we pulled somebody's bobber out of there as we went by.
If I was by myself, I might have fished that area for a fair bit, but we had a lake to explore.

Saw three fish jump or otherwise hit something on the surface, I assume these were bass, they
were good size. all within sight of the dam.

water was good and clear, maybe 5-10 foot visibility I think you guys will do well on friday, good luck!

J

thanks for the report!

You got to go for a paddle with your kid. Dude, you scored fish or not.

Excellent report!

If there is brush, and reasonably deep water nearby, the crappie will be there.  Guaranteed.

Mooch, How is friday looking?

MolBasser

Chris - I'm off Friday - I already posted it on the hook-up section.  Do you happen to have directions to this lake?

mooch, getting to this lake could not be easier. I'm sure it's an utter zoo in warmer weather.

exit cochrane off 101. follow the signs to the lake. it's just off 101 to the east.

careful about parking in a trailer space, I got a warning ticket. 
I'm still not sure where I was supposed to park, the ticket said park along the
dam roadway, not sure what that means. I feel like I  paid the launch fee
I should get to park near the launch. highly bogus, I hate these kind of
rules, makes me want to bring on the anarchist revolution,  .

I think you guys will be able to get crappie on both sides of the dam.
The terrain near the ramp was pretty much exactly as mol told me to search
for, 5-8 foot deep submerged brush with deep water nearby. telltale tangled
bobber there too. There is much less visible brush on the other side by
the rocky cliff but a possibly knowledgeable local was bank fishing there,
perhaps some underwater rocky structure, so you might take a look at that.
he had small minnows on a 3-4 foot leader under a bobber.
we paddled further north and saw a little more brush and structure still inside the
5 mph zone, but the most was right by the launch ramp and dam.

there is another 5 mph zone across the lake and to the north. I have heard that is a
fishing possibility. We stuck to exploring the west shore.  It would be nice to know where Dave
got his bass when he trolled the shoreline, keeping to 15 foot depth.

fishsniffer has a map and so does the county parks page.

I think an anchor might be a good idea as there was some wind when we first arrived.

mooch and mol, I am counting on you for crappie revenge. slay 'em! and take pictures.

j

thanks again for the tips - I'm definitely looking forward to paddling/fishing new waters. A change of scenery is always a good thing!

Last time I launched I got my warning at the gate.  The parking spaces for non-trailered boats is anywhere along the guard rail on the damn (water side).  On the other side of the lake there is free parking and water access.  This place can be a zoo once the weather warms up and the wakeboarders/waterskiers show up, in the summer you need reservations to launch.