8-12 feet is as deep as the drop off goes, or the drop off starts about 8-12 feet from the shore? The latter is very much preferable.
I only really fish murky water in NY, and never for trout, but I can tell you the clearer the water the more presentable (read - real) the lure or bait has to look, which is pretty simple if you use live bait of some sort, although if you hook it wrong it can get awkward (you'll still get bites, just not from the smart - big - ones).
Shore fishing can be pretty tough in the mid afternoon during the summer, as often the bigger fish will go deeper for various reasons. You can still get some, of course, and who knows what they'll be like at that particular resevoir.
If you can get yourself some minnows of some type (whatever's legal and natural there - most bait shops should have them), the smallies will go to town with them. See if you can't find a particularly craggy, rocky part that leads to and is included in the dropoff. That'd be a good place to start.
Now I don't know if this will work great there, but on Lake Champlain a good way to get a boat load of bass is to take one of those minnows, hook it through the mouth and up through the head, cast it out with a sinker rigged on a seperate line maybe 1 - 1.5' after the hook line, and cast it out. Let it sink to the bottom and just *slowly* jig that thing back in.
There's got to be some fellas from CO that can give you more appropriate tips for the area.
Good luck, have fun, and post pictures!