I live somewhat close to the lake, about 15-20 minutes drive. I mostly fish the stream feeding the lake which holds nice bass. The lake is busy, especially on weekends. My nephew also fishes the lake. We both use kayaks and catch bass. Lots of places to put in and places to fish from shore due to the size of the lake. The lake offers boater a lot of fun as well as fishermen. As far as the locals living 10 miles or more away, there are other options. A lot of fishermen know local farmers that have ponds which offer very good bass fishing as well as ponds located around the area open to the public, you just have to search them out. To drive some distance and spend a week as a vacation, there would be plenty to do in the area and enjoy the lake, but to make a special trip of an hour or so to just fish the lake, I’d look for other options. As far as what works, it's a big lake, use your favorite and try any spot.

For trout the 'Fox' and 'Phoebe' are good, keep them small. Most of the trout I have caught, I was using 'Power Bait'. It comes in lots of colors and scents. My rig is very simple. I use 6 lb. test with a red bead and swivel on the end. I then have made-up leaders with another swivel, 30" or so of 4 lb. test and generally a treble hook size 14. I add a small split shot 10" up from the hook. If I get snagged which rarely happens because the Power Bait covers the hooks, the 4 lb. test breaks first. I put the split shot up 10" because most trout hoover about 6" off the bottom so if the split shot gets to the bottom the bait floats and will be slightly above their eye sight. Almost all of the trout I catch swallow the hook so I don't try to remove it, I simply cut the line at their mouth and if big enough for me, put them on my stringer and place them in the water so they stay alive. If you don't know what you might be catching, I would go with a heavier line. I always use Berkley's 'Vanishing' line/leader for my 30" leader because trout can be skittish, especially in clear water. If you don't have a GOOD pair of polarized sun glasses, invest in one. When sight fishing at first they seem hard to see but after a while you get better at it. It's easy when they move or you see a glimmer. If you think it is a fish and it's sunny look for a shadow underneath. You see the shadow, it's a fish.
Tight lines,
Randy

Caught a pelican trolling ballyhoo in the Keys. I had just read an article of what to do if you did just that. Reeled him/her up to the boat, picked him/her out of the water, put him/her under my arm to hold the wings down, put my gaff between his/her beak, unhooked my ballyhoo and that was that. I did hold him/her a few minutes and patted his/her head. Figured I may never get another chance to do it again. The pelican seemed content enough.

almoy has some good ideas. I fished FL for 30 years before moving back to PA. To do the tracking he does/did takes dedication and time but narrows down time slots and increases success.
FS digest has a good idea. I rented a place on the St. Johns in FL once and caught a small pan fish. Put a hook behind his dorsal fin with a larger hook and a bigger rod and tossed it in. Within a couple minutes I had a 2' catfish on. Repeated that 3 more time in 15 minutes. Did that for sea trout also. Using a bobber will allow you to cover more water at a quicker pace. If you are still fishing and aren't getting any bites move on in 15 minutes or so, you can always come back to see if tide, water temp., food supply has changed. Catfish eat about anything. Iv'e caught them on chicken parts to hotdogs. And, it's called fishing, not catching. Remember the saying, a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.

Check out this web site. Good information. I have no connection to them, I just saw it a few days ago because I have the same interest as you. Best of luck!
http://terrybullard.com/CrawfishMain.html

Me and my Dad would go to those type of lakes every now and then for giggles. We would use Dare Devils on spinning rods and walk the lake. We always caught fish, done in 30 minutes, then again, we always caught fish at public lakes doing the same. Red and white Dare Devils have been around a very long time. Don't use the generic, don't go for the newer flash colors, junk.

All good information. I did the zebco combo's starting out and still keep several 202's and 33's on hand. I do remove the front part that the line rubs against and go around it with 600 grit abrasive paper as soon as I buy them and I remove the back and make sure they are well greased once a year. For creek trout many times I use a fly rod with a #12 hook and split shot depending on the current baited with a live worm or salmon egg. Great fun and you can sort off just reach into places in small creeks just fine and stay away from them because I think they spook a bit easy.

Best bait is free and found in the sand at the shoreline. Ask any local how to catch them. Fidler crabs and sand flees. Sheepheads are the best bait stealers there are. They bite very lightly. Leave the hook exposed and set the hook quickly. Always found around dock supports.

If you're looking for the spincast that looks something like the Zebco 202 or 33, that combo does comes with a 2 piece 6' rod.

Do you that comes in a combo with a two piece 4'8" and 6'6" set-up on Amazon?

Dan, I for got to mention Sand Fleas. I don't remember what time they are most plentiful but they are good bait and free. You simply wait for the ocean wave to wash up and when it starts to go back, did into the sand. You can buy racks for the purpose but I always used my hands. Anyway, generally if you hit some there will be a bunch. They look a bit like those bug I call rolly pollies. The small gray ones that roll up into a ball if you mess with them and an armadillo. Big ones are about the size of a small big toe. They aren't cute but don't bite. Stick a hook in them and you are good to go. Most fish will eat them.

RandomPantsAppear, I'd get a cheap crab trap and look forward for some good eating!

I lived in FL for 28 years. If you want to go cheap, stop at any bridge that crosses water that is wide enough that looks like it might hold fish. If it does there will be a pull off and a path down to the water indicating it's being fished. All ramp/boat docks you can generally fish at but it is usually busy. Go to any beached. Doesn't matter if there are people doing other things, sun bathing (crazy Northerns), beach walkers and such. Throw a line in. You should have some heavy line, at least 10lb. Should be able to hook some whitings which are good eating although you can catch a lot of different fish. If you hook a shark over 3 feet you will break your line. If you catch one under that, don't bring him closer than 5 feet and cut your line. Yes, they are good eating but without knowing how to handle them, don't be stupid. ALWAYS USE REGULAR HOOKS, NO STAINLESS STEEL!!! If you fish from a boat you need a license or fishing from anywhere you need a boat to get to such as an island on the Indiana River (which isn't really a river). Don't keep regular looking cat fish if it comes from saltwater, they taste bad. If the are sail cats (the have long thin pieces of membrane coming off there three front barbs), they are tasty. If you see one you will know what I am talking about. Hook size is always a challenge fishing saltwater because you don't know what you might hook unless you are targeting a particular fish. I fished with a man that was a commercial fisherman and he always fished with what I considered small hooks. After that I started doing the same because small fish could also be caught on the same rig. Caught some very big fish on a #6 good quality hook. That was about 10 years or so back and I was paying a bit over $1 a piece (no SS). Before that I was fishing on my boat and was using a very large hook and had to almost straightened out after it carriec my 19ft Wellscraft about 20 yards. That's about it without me being there. Good luck and have fun. Oh, if you are fishing saltwater and catch something real small, put your hook in front of the top fin and throw it back in. That might be fun!

I wondered the same thing about 5 years ago when I was fishing the St. James river in FL. I went on line and came across a video 'How to clean a catfish in 30 seconds' I thought no way. I watched it and there it was. It did not include gutting it but that was not needed because he flayed it using an electric knife. So, I had an electric knife and thought I had to try it. I didn't rush and was under a minute. Just google it and several will come up, even one for 15 seconds. I assume you could do the same with a good knife. Good luck.
Randy

My loan is still processing for my cottage/cabin but see no problems. I am actively looking at all that is out there. The responses have been very helpful. I just found out there is a huge boat store about 12 miles away that has bunches of kayaks so I will be going there after a short vacation starting tomorrow. Thanks to all!
Randy