Lake Mendo

The lake is beautiful right now with the highest level in years from recent storms.  But water is still pretty cloudy and cold and action is slow.  Very few fishermen on the lake or along the shore as yet.  And (a good thing!) not much power boating because of debris in the lake.  A few nice smallmouths caught by casting buzz baits in the shallows.  Big schools of carp gathering along the SE shore.  Hooking them is problematic, though.  I'm thinking bow & arrow...

No striper action that I've heard of, but this is about the time to start deep trolling white-bellied wobble lures a little ways out along the shoreline.

Crappie fishing ain't what it used to be before the stripers were introduced (think: Jaws).  But try Crappie Cove and the channels and little coves along the east side.  There are still some really nice ones that have managed to survive.  I don't know anything about bait because I only use artificials, believing that humility and frustration are important byproducts of the fishing experience.  People who do dunk bait often say minnows and crawdads are the way to go for bass and stripers.  Later on, people fish for those big channel cats with the most disgusting thing they can find in the meat drawer of the fridge.

Best of luck!

Some stripers are being caught....

"I'm trying to introduce the wife to NCKA and the best way for me to do it does not include me ditching her with the kids while I go out fishing."

If only I had this kind of common sense.