If you plan to start fishing early April jigging is the best way to catch drifting.Casting hair jigs is the preferred way.Some tip the jigs with minnows and others don't use any minnows.I recall some posts years past that said the jig bite was best from first light and for a couple hours and turned off.But the fishing in April is heavily influenced by the weather.The shallower waters in the shooting range get muddy with a good wind.You can go many days before you can even get out in April let alone a 3-5 days of stable weather.But if you get a period of stable weather in April, the fishing can be fantastic.
If you plan to troll in April the best way to catch is using crankbaits.The colder the water the slower you need to troll.Early April speed is probably 1.3-1.7 mph and increases as the water warms.Water clarity is critical to catch in.If water too clear the fish avoid because the clear water is colder than the muddy water.If it's too muddy you can't catch well either because the fish can't see the lure.Best color is stained water.Like a greenish hue that you see between the muddy and clear water.Popular cranks lately have been the bandit cranks.Best trolling setup in April is mono line with inline boards.Watch the fishing reports to help you target best speeds,colors and leads as the month progresses.When you start trolling for the day try and cover the water column and with a variety of colors to figure out the bite for that day.I usually start with 120,100,90,80,70,55 leads and a purple,white,blue chrome, chartreuse,gold and another white/green combo colored bandits.