I'll be spending a week or so in the DFW area and being a predominantly bass fisherman, Lake Fork seemed like a no brainer. That is until I started reading about it and learned about all the stumps. Then I read some more and learned that basically all of the lakes in that area are flooded forests afflicted with the same underwater hazardry. My experience with taking my boats around stumps is not good. I'm not worried about it getting dinged up since it's an old 1990 something aluminum Bass Tracker. I'm more worried about either getting stuck or chewing up my prop. I found an airbnb that is right on Lake Tawakoni and that seems like a good middle ground since there's a handful of lakes in that area only a short drive away.

So, are the lakes as bad as people say? Is a BoatLanes chip sufficient? I have absolutely no problem driving miss daisy but these lakes are pretty big compared to what we're used to (biggest lake we've been on yet is only 1/5 the size of Fork but 2x as deep) and idling the whole thing doesn't sound like a valid solution.

Most of the lakes in the area are clear in the open water and you can run without a problem. There are exceptions. Tawakoni is a good lake for hybrids, so you may want to consider giving them a try if you fish there. You should get some good response by largemouth bass anglers on this post that will help.