This afternoon, I'm headed to a private 15 acre lake that has not been fished in about 5 years. I've caught a ton of fish out of it but the water has now turned milky. Does anybody know why? And what is the best way to fish it? Any and all advice is appreciated.

Milky? Try an oreo.

If you mean dirt. Throw a creature bait with a bunch of appendages.

black and blue creature bait. Stick a small rattle in the bait and cover it with scent.

If no bites on Trig/crig, use the same creature bait with rattle as a bladed jig trailer.

Whenever I think of muddy water, I think of fish that aren't relating as closely to cover, whether if its wood, rock, or grass.

Use baits that move a lot of water and create vibration.

Start with a Colorado bladed spinnerbait in a dark color,2.0 square bill in chartreuse/black back or as said a black/blue chatterbait.

If you can't get a bite on a moving bait, try any number of big plastic baits or jigs. I'd start with a texas rigged brush hog or jig. Again select plastics that are dark (junebug, black/blue, Black), upsize them, and select baits that move water with extra appendages. This is where a creature bait excels in my opinion. However, they aren't always the best bet depending on cover being fished.

Also, a buzzbait or frog early and late...

I'd focus on the moving bait bite, and if that fails, I'd slow down and pick apart any obvious cover.

Good luck!

Hopefully the lake did not turn over. Maybe just still mucked up form the rains last week but should be clearing by now.

- Very slow moving baits like a Senko with the Chart. tail spinner screwed in it.
- Ribbit Frog in mid-size - Black/Red Flake - If there is any vegetation?
- Bright Crayfish 1.5 crank bait - Wobbled just under the surface.
- If it has reeds pitch a Fluke in White with a 1/32 pinch bullet at the nose of the bait.

buzz bait, ribbit, colorado bladed black spinner bait, big creature bait in dark colors, squarebill with lots of rattles

Senko and a jig.

Work slow, make multiple casts to key pieces of cover.

if it's milky green it's probably an algae bloom. Not a bad thing and should help the food chain. It keeps the water colored and stops an overpopulation of invasive grass in shallow ponds. Should clear up over time. Fish it just like you would stained water.

Thanks for all the advice guys. It turned out to be not as "milky" as I was told. Just muddy from all the rains. We had 5 guys out there throwing everything we had. 3 fish were caught amongst us. One was a 4 lb catfish on a rattletrap. that's a first. Most strikes were short. We get to go back out there in a 2 couple of weeks after the dirt has settled. they should be hungrier then. Here's a clip of my only decent strike. forgive me on the language.