Greene-Sullivan question

Planning on taking an early spring trip down to Linton area and was wondering if its a good idea to take my small stratos bass boat down with us? Are the pits safe to launch a bass boat or will I only be able to access a few lakes? Ive been told most ramps are stone or dirt, and im ok with that but just wondering if I should switch gears and go with a flat bottom or kayak/canoe? If things go well, i'd like to go back down again around the end of April and turkey hunt, but been told its full of mushroom hunters and trail riders.

Many years ago, about 40 of them, I found a pamphlet that included a small map of the area with each pit numbered. Each, or at least many of the pits also had a name.A listing on one page told what fish the pits were stocked with etc. My memory doesn't serve me so well but I think a trolling motor might be all that is allowed on most if not all.
Keep in mind that these are strip pits, very few actual lakes. Very deep water with many shallower cove areas. The entire area I believe is land re-claimed over many years by Amax coal company and others.
I might do some internet searching and see if I can dig up some info, I'm from not far away but never fished there.
Good luck and I will let you know if I find more info.

Alan

Many years ago, about 40 of them, I found a pamphlet that included a small map of the area with each pit numbered. Each, or at least many of the pits also had a name.A listing on one page told what fish the pits were stocked with etc. My memory doesn't serve me so well but I think a trolling motor might be all that is allowed on most if not all.
Keep in mind that these are strip pits, very few actual lakes. Very deep water with many shallower cove areas. The entire area I believe is land re-claimed over many years by Amax coal company and others.
I might do some internet searching and see if I can dig up some info, I'm from not far away but never fished there.
Good luck and I will let you know if I find more info.

Alan

Fishing
With more than 120 lakes scattered throughout Greene-Sullivan State Forest's 9,000 acres, you'll never fall short of fishing opportunities! In fact, the forest offers some of the finest fishing in the state.
Most of the lakes are stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill and redear sunfish. The state record bluegill, weighing 3 lbs. 4 ounces was taken from Reservoir #26 in 1972. In some of the lakes you can find channel catfish, bullheads, crappie and warmouth. Airline Lake is also stocked annually with rainbow trout as part of a statewide put-and -take trout program.
Reservoir 26 campground has a wheelchair accessible fishing pier.

For those who enjoy the serenity of fishing, several of the lakes are "walk-in only" to provide a more secluded fishing experience. Approximately 60 of the lakes have easy access from county roads and have dirt or gravel launching ramps; boating limited to electric trolling motors.
Muskellunge were stocked in Bass Lake in the fall of 1997. These fish should reach a harvestable size limit of 36" by the year 2000.
A partial list of some of the most popular lakes (many are not listed because data is not available):

Lake	Acres	Max. Depth	Avg. Depth	Best Fishing
Airline	25	67'	26'	rainbow trout, bluegill, redear, catfish
Alder	3	12'	8'	bluegill, largemouth bass present
Benefiel	60	40'	20'	largemouth bass, bluegill, redear, bullheads
Big Fry	4.5	10'	7'	bluegill, channel catfish, buffalo
Catfish	3	14'	7'	Unknown
Chapel	3	20'	9'	bluegill, warmouth, redear
Clear	3	24'	13'	bluegill
Cottonwood	5	24'	13'	bluegill
Downing	33	40'	20'	bluegill, catfish
Ellis	4	22'	11'	bluegill, redear
Goodman	3	30'	17'	bluegill, redear, channel catfish
Graveyard	48	50'	18'	largemouth bass, carp, buffalo, crappie, catfish
Hammond	6	28'	10'	bluegill
Ladder	5	12'	8'	bluegill *Note: a long, narrow pit with steep shoreline. Drops sharply to 12'
Lonnie	4	28'	10'	largemouth bass, bluegill, redear, catfish
Lower Fry	2.4	10'	6'	Unknown. Renovated and restocked in 1991 with largemouth bass, bluegill, redear
Narrow	9	24'	8'	largemouth bass, crappie, redear
Reservoir #26	42	15'	4'	largemouth bass, bluegill, redear, catfish
Scott	16	55'	26'	largemouth bass, bluegill, redear, channel catfish, buffalo, carp *Note: almost entire shoreline drops off sharply to 15' deep
Shake #2	5	25'	12'	unknown
Smedley	6	30'	15'	bluegill *Note: walk-in fishing only
Spencer	5	22'	12.5'	Unknown. Largemouth bass, bluegill, redear, crappie, channel catfish present
Star	5	26'	16'	largemouth bass, redear, crappie
Todd	9	38'	15'	redear, largemouth bass, bullhead
Tree	6	16'	10'	largemouth bass, bluegill
Trimble	9	25'	11'	bluegill
Trout	4	20'	14'	bluegill, redear
Walnut	5	18'	10'	Unknown. Largemouth bass, redear, bluegill present
Wampler	80	38'	7.5'	largemouth bass, bluegill, redear, catfish, crappie

Thank you very much for the info. Yes, from what ive heard its electric only motors, so we would be using the trolling motor the whole time. Thought about going the canoe route...which I'm sure alot of people do but with a couple of us going with all our gear it would just work out much better using the boat.

I have never personally made the trip, but have buddies who fish it quite often. From what they tell me, the place gets over ran with weeds once the temps warm up. And a kayak is the better option, no much access for a boat with any size.

I have a friend of mine that fishes and camps there every year all summer long and you just have to learn which pits to fish and for what kind of fish as he constantly catches nice gills, crappies, cats, and bass. When you locate the right pits even the nite fishing can be good when it's mid summer and hot. As a kid, I grew up going to school at Staunton in clay co. And fished tons of pits from Carbon all the way south including Linton in the 60-70-80s. Nothing remains constant and everything with time changes, but I am glad I fished them when I did. Strip pit fishing can be a ton of fun.

I'm somewhat familiar with the pits and would recommend a flat bottom vs. a bass boat solely because of the launches. There are a few like black cat and bass lake that you can easily launch a bigger boat on. We have fished probably a dozen pits and have caught crappie from all of them,,,.red bud, graveyard, and wampler being the best. The posting above with lake depths is not accurate according to my electronics. One of the lakes on there, we marked well over 120' and a lot of the pits drop off to 20 or 30' straight off the bank,,,kind of spooky! Don't overlook Sullivan lake which is over 400 acres, has 2 nice launches, and has lots of crappies that probably average 9". You have to sort through them, but it seems like everywhere you stop, you catch them. We've also caught some nice saugeye's while crappie fishing! Good luck too you and shoot me a pm if you'd like when you come down! Pretty good first post huh ;)