Do you love big bluegill?

pea soup water question

Hi everyone, first time poster and newbie fisherman here. I got a bit of an problem maybe you all can help me with...

Here's my usual fishing spot that I fish from shore:
http://maps.google.ca/?ie=UTF8&ll=44.294098,-76.441777&spn=...
The lake is flooded swamp and part of the Rideau canal system. It's a pretty shallow lake, but the drop-off at the shore is quite steep, and in some places the lake comes right up to a limestone wall. There's bass, perch, carp around here, and a TON of bluegills and pumpkinseed sunfish. Most days, the water is fairly clear and I can sit on top of the wall and jig vertically for bluegills.

Today though, there's an algae bloom going on and the water is like green paint, and I couldn't catch a thing. I tried jigs, spoons, grubs, powerbait, spinners, and I could barely get a nibble. I tried casting out and jigging vertical, deep and shallow, and moved around a number of times to no avail. This is the second time I've had this green paint water, and the first time wasn't much better. I KNOW there are gills there though, because the other guy there was catching fish at a slow-but-reasonable pace using the ole worm-on-a-hook just dropping it vertically into the water with no movement. He even caught a good sized bass that broke his line.

I suppose the question is: in these bad sorts of conditions, do I just have to suck it up and get some worms, or does anyone have any super-secret tips of getting these fish to bite with lures?

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Permalink Reply by John Sheehan on September 17, 2009 at 3:08pm

I would tip a lure(small spoon) with bait. Why not use worms or live bait?You want to catch fish dont you?When you get them worked up at the end of your line with bait tipped lure then check the fish's cooperation on a plain lure.Good luck Fry Fisher!

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Permalink Reply by Fry Fisher on September 18, 2009 at 7:02am

Ew! Worms are wiggly and live in dirt. That's gross...

Seriously though, it's just a logistical thing because I like to hit the lake for an hour or two after work. Maybe I can store them in the lunch fridge... :P It's the weekend though so I'll give this a shot. Convenience is not as good as actually catching the fish!