Number one get your feet wet and get in the water.I have not fished the park in 20 years but when I did I hopped in and waded.Expand your horizons and get a map and look at other streams also.
#2 there are many lures that will produce in our streams depends on what your budget is .
I like soft plastics. Case and Slider are my favorirte. There are many other plastics that will produce. I like some of Prowler Lures plastics also and I have gotten them free for years. I would rather fish the Case and Slider lures and the Zoom baby/tiny brush hogs in our small streams. Slider 4 inch, slider bass grub, Case hellgramite,Jacks worm 4 and 6 inch are awesome. For the Rock Bass and Smallies in our streams my bait of confidence is the 4 inch jacks worm weightless early and late and on a slider spider head during the day. Now live bait is the best and cheapest in the long run if you want to spend the time to catch it and learn how to .
Find something you are comfortable and have confidence in. I suggest taking one of the lures mentioned in all the post, if plastics get one bait in pumpkin,junebug(dark blue colors) and watermelon red. (As far as crank baits I do not throw them (in the streams)except rapala and that is gold and black. the little x raps work great according to a client) ) Learn to fish the same lure with different presentations you will catch fish. Example: I can fish beside bd with his case hellgramite and I can fish with a jack's worm almost 2 inches larger (looks like a senko but has a tapered tail) and we will probably be even at the end of day with numbers and size. Because we have learned how to present a certain bait and have confidence in that bait.
Listen to all the folks on this board,individuals have favorite or comfort baits you just got to pick a couple (do not break the bank) and fish them.
Hey bd since we have not fished since an April Snow Storm or was it the 20 incher (can not remember) lets try the above analogy this summer together.
Mike
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