Quote Originally Posted by Eagle 1 View Post
Always wanted to fish there .Want to book now . What guide ,what month , where to stay , bring boat or not , bait to use , do you catch both red ear /bluegills ? Any other information's you want to throw out .
Used to fish there many years ago so I may be of a little help. In my opinion, the only bad months are the heat of summer months. Right now would be the time to go. All the way until real cold weather sets in. The lake will be less crowded, and the fish will be on the shad bite. I'm a little confused about the question about bluegill/redear, since this site mainly discusses Crappie so I'll try to answer both.

You can bring your own boat but keep in mind this is a shallow lake with lots of stumps so keep your speed down. I have never hired a guide and always caught fish, but Bluebank offers guides and lodging.
as far as bait for Crappie, tuffy minnows are a cain't miss bait but any kind of soft plastic worked slowly among the Cypress trees will work. I prefer Mr. Twister in a 2" with 1/16 oz or less jig head. Color doesn't matter to me but chartruese, white, or smoke will catch fish. The crappie will be on the outside edge of the Cypress trees, and I have caught fish all over this lake. Location does not matter.

As far as Bluegill/Redear, April is the time. The Redear will come shallow first and by the first week of May, the Bluegill will be on fire. Once again, location does not matter as they are all over the lake and plentiful. Red worms with a bobber is the closest to a sure thing, but I used the same 2" Mr. Twister as for Crappie but fished shallower. You will get Crappie as well as sunfish that way.

as far as lodging, I mentioned Bluebank, but there are other lodges as well. Perhaps someone reading this can add a favorite guide. If you choose to bring your own boat and go guideless, you can put in at the State Park and head for the upper Blue Basin. Fish are everywhere just go real slow and expect to ride up a stump or two. There are a few canals/ditches cut through the trees and it can get a little confusing when the suns starts setting so bring a lake map and a compass to find your way back.