I've been wanting to put together a bluegill/shellcracker trip to LBL for the past three or so years and have never really had the time or money to do so. This seems to be the year that I finally get it all lined up.

What's the better choice for big shellcracker, Barkley or Ky Lake? I'd like to hear from people who have personal experience too but everyone's welcome to chime in. We'll be targeting bluegill too but probably focus heavily on catching redear.

What would be a good place to stay and what's reasonable? I'm looking at the first week of May, May 5th is the full moon so it should be good fishing. I've never been to either lake and only have a 14ft jon boat with a small motor, so hitting the main waters isn't an attractive option. I'd like to get into a bay somewhere that I can dodge the wind but still have plenty of options.