C
chris61182
I also went to Timothy for the first time saturday.Fishing was rather slow and very windy.We did have a boat however .Lots of people.Too many for me.My biggest gripe is trying to troll around the crawdad traps,darn near impossible.If people would try to keep them in line it wouldn't be so bad.Just my two cents.I was just at Timothy for my first time ever yesterday morning...
There's much to be known about this lake.
-On first approach there is a good sized dock right next to the Dam (have to drive over the dam, park on the left). I saw this fished two ways - bobber with worm going out from the dock and powerbait off the bottom going towards shore.
-There isn't much bank fishing. At least not right now (not sure how much the water level goes down through the summer). I had to wade out from the shore to be able to get any appreciable distance and depth (wind wasn't helping). Meditation Point Campground is hike-in only. If you get to Timothy and turn left before the dam, you're in a day use area that is just a row of parking and a gravel boat launch. If you go over the dam the bank is similar, and accessable from the dam to the last camp ground. Most of the campgrounds seemed to have gravel boat launches (i only checked out a couple of the sites). Once you get past the last campsite, there is nothing left unless you hike way in, or better yet, on horseback. There is no easy way to fish other parts of the lake without a boat. Don't expect to be able to drive around the lake. It can be done, but you won't be anywhere near the water, and most of it is gravel roads (at least the way I went). I didn't know this and had hoped to get away from the crouds and fish the otherside of the lake. An hour and a half later we made it back to the dam, frustrated to say the least.
-One the above note, a small boat or pontoon is very nice to have at Timothy. Like I mentioned, its really the only way to fish anywhere on the lake thats not near the dam. All water on Timothy is restricted to 10mph.
-If you're going up for a couple days, take a crawdad pot. Bait it and let soak overnight.
I was in a similar situation as you. I knew NOTHING about Timothy before going. Fishing seems best in the early morning hours, before 8am. The water at the banks are fairly rocky, and in some areas extend out quite a ways before dropping. Fishing near the dam does make things deeper, faster, but is also the most accessable. I'm glad yesterday was a hot day up there so it became kinda nice to walk out in the water to make casts towards deeper waters. But at the end of the day I have to call my time at Timothy rather unenjoyable.
You should see the place over 4th of July weekend. What a zoo! And i agree to your comment about the way everyone sets their pots willy nilly all over the damn place. I take my pontoon. Kind of a giagantic lake for toons, but the work out is nice. Small craft do much better negotiating the pot lines.
One thing I did learn this weekend was that we caught more and larger fish down wind from the pots when we could get there.Could it be chum?