Fishing report: Prospects should improve if the winds stay calm
Here’s the fishing report for areas around Kansas City in Kansas and Missouri for the week of March 7.
Missouri
BULL SHOALS: 50 degrees, murky, 2.6 feet high. Outlook: Guide Del Colvin reports: largemouth – good and moving up shallow. Try crank baits or spinner baits in shallow water or jerk baits in clear water; walleye – up lake is doing well on jerk baits and they are moving up on points; crappie – fair in 20 feet brush piles and docks; white bass – good on white swim jigs or beetle spins. The next couple of weeks will be hot. Below the dam: John Berry of Berry Brothers reports: on the White, the hot spot has been Wildcat Shoals. The hot flies were olive woolly buggers (#8, #10), Y2Ks (#14, #12), prince nymphs (#14), zebra midges (black with silver wire and silver bead or red with silver wire and silver bead #16, #18), pheasant tails (#14), ruby midges (#18), root beer midges (#18), pink and cerise San Juan worms (#10), and sowbugs (#16). Double fly nymph rigs have been very effective (my current favorite is a Y2K (#10) with a ruby midge (#14) suspended below it). Use weight to get your flies down.
TANEYCOMO: 43 degrees, clear, running 2 units Outlook: Lilleys’ Landing reports: fishing is fair. Some shad have come over the dam, but not in big groups. The best bite is still in the creeks down around the Landing. Dark colored jigs, jig and float (white and pink), red/gold spoons, nightcrawlers, minnows or Powerbait can all be productive. Try fishing the mouths, as well as up in the creeks, for good numbers and sizes. Short, Cooper, Turkey, Coon, Roark, Bee, and even Bull Creek should all be producing.
NORFORK: upper 40s, upper end of lake – stained, lower end by the dam – clear, about 1 foot low. Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: bass – excellent in the creek channel swings and turns using 1/8 oz. or ¼ oz. spoon in 30 feet of water; crappie – good to excellent in 10-15 feet halfway back in the creeks relating to shad; walleye – turning on up in the Norfork river from boat and shore. The water temp up there is 48-50 degrees and water is murky. Walleye are just starting to spawn. Striper fishing continues to be slow.
LONGVIEW: 41 degrees, 2.5-3 feet of clarity,
0.3 feet high. Outlook: Longview Marina reports: crappie – great around the dock up until Monday. Numbers and sizes over 13” being caught regularly. No reports of walleyes yet, but expect the dam to be productive on bottom bouncers or Lindy rigs when the water temperature reaches 45-50 degrees. Fishing available around the dock during marina hours from 7am-1pm.
POMME DE TERRE: 46 degrees, murky, 5.5 feet high. Outlook: Muskie Guide Service reports: crappie – good over brush including shallow water; all other species – slow or no report.
LAKE OF THE OZARKS: 42 degrees, main lake – stained, creeks - dirty, 4 feet low. Outlook: Gier’s Bass Pro reports: water generation is at a minimum. Expect fishing patterns to change when water temperature hits 48 degrees. Crappie – good using jigs and jerk baits, still relating to shad balls in main lake; largemouth bass – good on jerk baits or jigs on chunk rock points.
REED AREA: 40 degrees, murky, less than 6 inches low. Outlook: Department of Conservation reports: crappie - fair using tube jigs and minnows near brush piles; trout - fair on power bait and small jigs; all other species - slow.
STOCKTON: 44 degrees, muddy, about 1 foot high. Outlook: Stockton Lake Guide Service reports: crappie – excellent on jigs in 10-20 feet of water in the backs of creeks relating to shad; walleye – fair.
JACOMO: high 30s/low 40s, mostly clear, normal Outlook: Forty Woods Bait & Tackle reports: crappie - good lake wide on shiners and jigs; walleye – in spawn, hitting on grub jigs and deep diving cranks; channel cat – fair on worms lake wide; bluegill – fair on waxworms and redworms; largemouth – fair on shiners, worm rigs, and paddle tail swimbaits.
BLUE SPRINGS: high 30s/low 40s, slightly stained, normal Outlook: Forty Woods Bait & Tackle reports: crappie - good lake wide; largemouth – fair on worms and worm rigs; hybrid bass – fair drift fishing; channel catfish – fair on nightcrawlers lake wide.
TABLE ROCK: 50 degrees, main lake – stained, rivers - muddy, 0.67 feet high. Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: have been running a lot of water in past week, but that’s expected to slow considerably as elevation reaches normal pool. River arms like the James still murkier than main lake. All bass species – good to excellent. Bite is turning on at lower end of the lake. Eric’s favorite cranks: Storm Wiggle Wart or SPRO Rock Crawler. Transition areas 10 feet deep or less are where you need to be. The stick bait bite is good on the lower end of the lake where there is clear water. Eric’s favorite stick baits: Megabass Vision 110 or SPRO McStick.
TRUMAN: mid 40s, stained and murky, about 4.2 feet high. Outlook: Truman Lake Guide Service reports: blue catfish – very good on fresh cut shad in shallow water and out deeper on channel breaks next to current in 18-25 feet. Crappie – excellent on any method. Good numbers of fish in the main lake and up in the creeks. Dipping stumps, spider rigging, jigs or minnows are all working well.
SMITHVILLE: 34 degrees, clear, 2 feet low. Outlook: Camp Branch Marina: crappie – catching a lot of smaller fish on jigs and minnows, but anglers are picking up some bigger ones in 20 feet of water. Striped bass are mixed in with the crappie and being caught frequently with same methods.
Kansas
SHAWNEE MISSION PARK: 44 degrees, murky, normal. Outlook: Johnson County Park and Recreation District reports: Trout – fair to good on small spinners. They were just stocked this previous week. Crappie/Panfish – poor to fair on worms; catfish – poor but can be caught using dough bait or chicken livers; bass/wipers – poor, but can be caught on crank baits.
KILL CREEK PARK: 44 degrees, murky, normal. Outlook: Johnson County Park and Recreation District reports: trout – stocked last week and are biting well on small spinners or powerbait; crappie/panfish – poor to fair on worms; bass – poor; catfish – poor, but will bite on dough bait or chicken livers.
COFFEY COUNTY: 66 degrees at hot-water outlet, clear, 4 feet low. Outlook: Coffey County reports: largemouth – good; smallmouth – slow; white bass – excellent; wipers – fair; walleye – fair; all other species slow.
MELVERN: 44 degrees, visibility around 7 feet, 1.4 feet low. Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: crappie – fair around the docks around the docks and in the heated dock area using purple jigs with numbers above 10" increasing, particularly in early morning and mid-afternoon on the south docks. There is also some success on the lake near the northwest end of the lake. Smallmouth - poor, but some activity along the shoreline and rip rap face of the dam using spoons and shallow crankbaits; white bass - fair lake wide on jigs and minnows. All other species – poor or no reports.
CLINTON: high 30s/low 40s, clear (1-2 feet), normal. Outlook: Clinton Marina reports: all species slow. Little to no fishing activity in past week. Courtesy docks at all boat ramps in Bloomington Park are in the water and ready for use.
POMONA: 33 degrees, clear, about 1.9 feet low. Outlook: No updated report submitted. Boat ramps are all open.
PERRY: 42 degrees, clear, about 2 feet low Outlook: Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle reports: lake is wide open. Crappie – good in the coves relating close to shad with good sizes caught there and in marina areas. White bass are mixed in with the crappie. Red/chartreuse tube jigs have been the best. Courtesy docks are now available at all Corps managed boat ramps.
MILFORD: 42 degrees, clear, 2.8 feet low. Outlook: Vic Oertle Guide Service reports: lake has blown open and a few big catfish are being caught. Crappie are slow currently.
HILLSDALE: 42 degrees, murky, 1.5 feet low. Outlook: Jayhawk Marina reports: lake is wide open. crappie – fair to good with a lot of short fish being caught on jigs; channel catfish – fair on chicken livers and fish guts.
LA CYGNE: 50 degrees at the hot-water outlet, clear, a little high. Outlook: Linn County Park reports: crappie – good; largemouth – good; blue catfish – good with large fish continuing to be caught; all other species – no updated report.
GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): 35 degrees, clear, about 1.1 feet low. Outlook: Wildlife, Parks and Tourism reports: the lake is ice free and all boat ramps are open. Crappie – fair to good off the river channel in 20-25 feet of water around established brush piles/natural cover and off the marina docks. A variety of small jigs and spoons work best. Walleye – good near the dam, north shore points, Harry’s Island, and off the river channel between Schoen’s Cove and Cawker causeway. Jig and crawler seem to be working well, but plastic swim baits may be the best bet. White bass – excellent lakewide with good numbers of larger fish found west of the causeway and in Walnut Creek. Wipers – good in same areas as white bass. Try trolling crankbaits, slabbing, or using live bait.
Glen Elder Pond: Trout stocked on March 5th. Anglers can now catch fish in either the outlet area or in the pond. Anglers have been having excellent success using a variety of small jigs and inline spinner baits as well as salmon eggs, Powerbait, and cheese. Anglers fishing the park pond and the Glen Elder outlet between now and April 15 are required to purchase a trout stamp ($14.50) if age 16-74 and must adhere to a daily creel limit of 5 fish per day. Anglers 15 and younger may fish the park pond without a trout stamp, but the daily creel limit is two trout per day.
TUTTLE CREEK: 32 degrees, mostly clear, about 1.1 feet low. Outlook: Vic Oertle Guide service reports: strong wind has opened up the lake and the fish are biting. The crappie are relating to large timber at 35 ft.
WYANDOTTE: 42 degrees, clear, normal. Outlook: Wyandotte Boat Rental reports: trout – excellent on powerbait; channel catfish – excellent on dough bait or chicken livers; crappie – slow to fair in the mornings.
WILSON: mid to upper 30s, stained, about 0.1 feet high Outlook: Hines Guide Service reports: not much fishing activity in last week with heavy wind. Stripers were good slabbing in 30 feet of water. All other species – slow or no report.
EL DORADO: mid to upper 40s, slightly stained, about 3.9 feet low. Outlook: Wildlife, Parks & Tourism reports: Some shoreline fishing going on for crappie and it has been sporadic. No boat activity with the 60+MPH winds. Anglers are beginning to hit the creeks, but water is limited with low lake level. Walleye will be up cruising the dam as prespawn pushes into the spawn. Crappie are scattering from winter time areas as water temps warm. Some reports of blue catfish being caught on wind-blown shorelines using fresh cut shad.
Tyler Mahoney is a Rockhurst University-educated outdoors fanatic who works to support his hunting and fishing habits. Read more of his next-generation insight at mahoneyoutdoors.com.
This story was originally published March 7, 2018 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Fishing report: Prospects should improve if the winds stay calm."