Fished Gardner from 5pm to 9:30 (got a little foggy) pretty slow. Between 3 of us we got 5 keeper bass to 15 inches. Two smallies and 3 largemouth. All 5 came from different places and on 4 different baits. Didn't learn much just maybe a better idea what the bottom contours are.

On an intersting note - we saw what I think looked like trout, jumping clear out of the water - like 2 or 3 body lengths about 4 or 5 different times. Don't know if they were feeding or being fed on.

What depth did you catch your fish? I'm not trying to get you to tell your spots as I know you are in the CTF Bass Tourney. I would just like to have an idea of where the fish might be.

DAS,

I've fished Gardner many times since 1998. In summer, find weedy areas in 6-12', they should be the most productive. I rarely fish deeper than 14' at Gardner. There is not much cover, other than docks. After dark, I would concentrate on weedy areas in 2' to 7'.

Gardner CAN be a great lake. My hope is that it is going to take a pretty impressive 6 fish limit to win this. My best guess is that 84-92" will win, possibly more.

Best of luck,

Huskybass

I haven't fished Gardner Lake that often, only a couple of times. It seems to me that there is a limited amount of major structure, although I haven't fished the whole lake yet. The key to finding the bass probably lies within your ability to locate subtle changes in structure at Gardner. It's those subtle changes that can get overlooked by anglers and can potentially hold nice bass. Also, the water is somewhat on the clear side. Light penetration probably reaches downwards of up to say 10-15 feet in most areas. There seems to be some good vegetation growth along the perimeter of the lake up to those depths, which will hold the forage.

The last time I was at Gardner the fish seemed to be relating to isolated cover, which should make sense in the summer pattern. Just like any lake, you have to pay close attention to details and always concentrate on the bass eating your bait.

I need to get myself out of a frustrating mental slump lately, (Findbass can attune to that), and it will be done by the time the tourney gets here. Think positive, keep an open mind, utilize your strengths, and concentrate on keeping the fish hooked. I'm sure there will be nice fish caught at the tourny, looking forward to meeting everyone.

I doubt the trout survive the summer at Gardner- not enough enough cool water with enough dissolved oxygen to sustain trout year round- at least not a fishable population...

I don't think trout should be stocked in lakes that cannot sustain holdover populations- just my humble opinion...