Re: FISH A NEW AREA WHAT IS YOU PLAN attack
Carl DiSalvo at Bismark is OK. Very shallow ramp. The lake usually chokes up pretty badly with Hydrilla weed growth and by Mid May you've got to cut though a couple hundred yards of weeds to get to open water. Lot's of Lily Pad beds there. LM bass fishing is OK. Not a lot of big fish. Don't know about the bluegill or crappie. I've heard the catfishing there is pretty good.<br /><br />Big river at Browns Ford is really meant for canoing. You might be able to get a small john boat in there with a jet-drive. That's part of the restricted area of the river with a 18" length limit on smallmouth. Fishing is pretty good I've heard.<br /><br />Never been to Ben Branch.<br /><br />I'm surprised you're putting in at George Winter as low as the rivers been. IIRC, the ramp on the STL county side has a hole in the middle of the ramp deep enough to launch but as soon as you back the boat away from the trailer you wind up churning mud and sand. The ramp on the Jefferson county side is OK to launch off of in low water, when they open it, but it's a beetch to put the boat back on. The concrete drops off into big chunk rock and I nearly lost a wheel there a few years back. I used to launch occasionally at the marina but the $5 launch fee seemed steep and when the river is as low as it's been, the channel from the marina to the river is barely wide enough for a boat and only around 6 - 12" deep.<br /><br />A couple lakes I'd suggest.<br /><br />Perry County lake by Perryville. Good LM bass fishing, crappie and bluegill. Lake is very hot and cold. When the fish are biting it's good, when they're not, it's bad.<br /><br />Washington County lake in ILL south of Nashville. Used to be a really good Big bass lake. Not quite as good but still some pretty good fishing. Good for catfish too.<br /><br />Rend Lake in Illinois. Fair for all species though it can get rough fast. <br /><br />Little Dixie, 10 miles east of Columbia and just a few miles south of I-70. Pretty fair fishing for all species. <br /><br />Good luck with your boat.
We as fishing guys and girls talk so much about the toys we have to catch a fish say 12" and up.<br />We plan how to get there we also talk about how to fish the new area but not seeing that in too many forums.If you could share this information as to how you fish a new area and why you do what you do.This could include the location you fished and what you learned about that location. I think would be intresting informative.<br /><br /> 
