Minsi Lake - all downhill from the first cast

[Lard Almighty]

I hit Minsi Lake with my brother today from 11:00 to 2:00. It was raining when we started, but eventually graduated to partly cloudy skies and humid. On my first cast I nailed a chunky ~3 lb. largemouth on a buzzbait. Game on, right? No such luck. We only managed a pickerel each the rest of the day. Water was very low, and not much moving in the shallows except sunnies and micro-pickerel.

Better than nothing, but we expected much better, especially given the weather.

[gnuisance]

Curse of the first cast strikes again.

[buzzbaiter]

Gotta throw on the waders and head right from the east boat launch. There are a series of inlets/creek channels. The weed beds are thick but if you navigate surface stuff through them, you'll do well. Most days its 5:1 pick/bass ratio but the bass you get are generally above avg. The lake is surprisingly shallow. You can walk out over 200' before it gets mid-thigh in some areas on the north side BUT watch them dropoffs as it goes from 2' to 6' in a step. Some deep suck mud near the shore so be wary of that. On the western side, there is a lilypad field that covers about 10-15 acres of the lake. Great spot because boats can't get in there and its shallow enough for you to walk out. This is where your casting skills are put to the test as you target openings in the pads. Don't go there in the fall because duck hunters like this cove and more than once I had a birdshot shower. Really not cool.

Interesting historical fact: if you venture into the woods on the northeast side, you'll see a series of canals and some concrete dams. The lake is fed by numerous cold, natural springs and at one point there was a small, private trout hatchery back there.