Love laurel for trout in May. From my experience that lake never gets muddy. It's a SUPER deep lake with areas that are 30 ft off the bank and 100+ ft deep. It will get cloudy but I've never seen it muddy before. Hopefully you have more luck than I with smallies. I could never really figure them out so I stuck to trout. Good luck! IMO Laurel is one of the most beautiful lakes in the state and one of the toughest to fish!