how would you approach this lake....

[mikemac10]

This is a lake (chain of lakes) here in central WI, the lake(s) are pretty shallow almost everywhere is less than 15 feet, heavy algae bloom this time of year, mostly sand/silt bottom with a few gravel/rock areas, there are a lot of submerged bogs and other crap just about everywhere, the lakes get A LOT of fishing pressure as well, lots of tournaments etc. so things get very tough later in the summer. Primarily largemouth, but there are smallmouth just not enough to actually target them.

Ive found a couple ways to catch fish here just want to be open minded and maybe try something else, what would you guys/gals suggest?

[PII Magnum]

if it is a heavy pressured lake I would have to say downsize

[Mike Adams]

like Matthew said you can downsize...sometimes in the summer months around here (also A LOT of pressure) we have so go up in size. Most people tend to downsize when the pressure increases, very few go with bigger baits, it's just something else you can try, especially if there are big fish.

[mikemac10]

well, with this particular lake the water gets really green from algae blooms so visibility is near 0 on top, it cant be much more than a foot or two visibility below the surface, this is why I would have a hard time downsizing, I'll give it a shot though. Some spots I have found so far are very specific, if you dont make the right cast and are off by a few feet either way, you dont get bit, this makes for locating fish very difficult, but when you do find a fish, there are usually a handfull of others with it. This time of year on the chain it can be difficult to get even a limit of fish (14" size limit). Usually a 3 lb average has a chance to win any tournament.

[Mark Perry]

Try a chatterbait type lure and remove the skirt. Replace it with a Lake Fork Live Magic Shad in the 3.5" size and hold on. It will call in some fish and the bites can be amazing. They try to kill it.

[flippindrew]

in summer it is usually easier to entice fish in dirtier water, so id stay near the algae blooms. id also stick to gravel or hard bottom areas. look offshore.

[mikemac10]

thanks for the advice guys, I like the chatterbait idea, kindof fits in with my pattern ive got going already. I can catch all the dinks I want beating the bank, all the better fish ive found are coming off offshore stuff...

[TJ Hooker]

What lake are you asking about Mike, You can IM me if you want.

[Bigbassbo]

You could downsize or do the opposite. Sometimes a larger than average lure may entice bites. Id make sure and look for the different bottom compositions no matter what.