Outdoors report: New Blue-Ribbon Trout Slam program presents new challenge for anglers
Here is the fishing and hunting report for lakes and reservoirs in the Kansas City area and regionally around Kansas and Missouri for February 5, 2020.
FISHING
Missouri
New: Missouri Blue Ribbon Trout Slam
Trout Unlimited and the Missouri Department of Conservation joined forces to create the Blue Ribbon Trout Slam program effective Jan. 1. The program honors anglers who successfully land a trout in at least five of Missouri’s nine Blue Ribbon trout streams. Participants may elect to have their successes listed on the MDC website.
The Blue-Ribbon Trout Areas in Missouri include Barren Fork Creek, Blue Springs Creek, Crane Creek, Current River, Eleven Point River, Little Piney Creek, Mill Creek, North Fork of the White River and Spring Creek.
Those areas provide outstanding habitat that can support natural reproduction of trout. The Slam won’t be easy, though. Trout in those streams are wary and will challenge even the most experienced angler. Trout of any size qualify for the Blue Ribbon Trout Slam, but trout under 18 inches must be released.
The Slam is broken into three categories. Bronze: catch a trout in five of the nine Blue Ribbon Trout Areas; award is a certificate and bronze pin. Silver: catch a trout from seven areas; award is a certificate and silver pin. Gold: catch a trout from all nine Blue Ribbon areas; award is a certificate, gold pin and medallion.
Anglers can complete the Blue Ribbon Trout Slam more than once but must complete the Gold level before beginning a new one. Visit the MDC site for more information: https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/fishing/trophies-certificates/blue-ribbon-trout-slam
Fishing reports
BLUE SPRINGS: low to mid 30s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook Group reports: mostly open water, but still iced in near Woods Chapel Rd. Not safe to walk on. You’re best fishing opportunity will be around the marina. Call ahead to make sure there is open water. Crappie will hit on jigs or minnows.
BULL SHOALS: 48 degrees, dingy to clear, 7.5 feet high and rising fast Outlook: Del Colvin Guide Service reports: Fishing is fair. Look for birds, loons and gulls actively feeding to find the shad at the surface.They’ll be at the top down to 60 feet. Tops of trees are holding shad 40 to 60 feet down halfway back into major creeks. Finding shad is key! The shad seem to be breaking up with water generation. Look for big groups of shad on your graph. A-rig is producing. Cranking if there’s wind. No wind or sun, go deep on drop shots, close to or on the bottom use rapala ice jigs, spoons, or damiki rigs. Also try jigs on ledge transitions and points. You need to stay on steeper banks with big rock or ledge transition banks. Del Colvin also does a video fishing report on YouTube: Bull Shoals Lake Fishing Report. Below the dam: John Berry of Berry Bros. Guide Service reports: The White has fished well. The hot spot has been the catch and release section below Bull Shoals Dam. 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 combination is a cerise high water San Juan worm with an egg pattern suspended below it). Use long leaders and plenty of weight to get your flies down.
JACOMO: low to mid 30s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group reports: main lake is mostly open. Any ice present is not safe to walk on. Look for crappie around the marina using jigs or minnows. They may also be sitting down deep on brush.
JAMES A. REED: 35 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Missouri Dept. of Conservation reports: Lakes are mostly clear of ice. Fishing pressure has been down with the current weather conditions. Some folks have found their limits of trout but have had to work for them. All other species slow.
LAKE OF THE OZARKS: 40 degrees, murkey, 1 foot low Outlook: Gier’s Bass Pro reports: fish are on the winter pattern. Things have been hit or miss. Look for crappie 15 feet deep over brush. Jerkbait bite worked extremely slow for bass should produce a few.
LONGVIEW: upper 30s/low 40s, dingy, normal Outlook: Longview Marina reports: things have been very slow on the lake and around the marina. Try using black and silver colored jigs 20 feet down. Fishing hours are 8am-12:30pm 7 days a week. Join Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group for daily updates.
NORFORK: 48 degrees, stained, 6 feet high Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: the best bite for multi-species like hybrids, wipers, and whites is down dep on main lake flats. Look for them 75 feet down. Crappie can be found in the back of creeks vertically jigging the ¼ oz Bink’s spoon.
POMME DE TERRE: 40 degrees, stained, 5 feet high (2800 CFS) Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: Not many reports in last week due to cold. Crappie can be found over brush piles on jigs and minnows. Bass are being found most frequently on A-rigs. Fishing has been slow overall.
SMITHVILLE: 34 degrees, clear, 1.5 feet low (250 CFS) Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: the lake opened up Tuesday but will likely be frozen up again very soon with the bad weather moving through. Crappie are still fair to good but having to find them around the docks.
STOCKTON: 40 degrees, clear, 5.3 feet high (40 CFS) Outlook: Tandem Fly Outfitters reports: Bass are hitting well on a jerk bait, jig, and A-rig. Crappie are 30-40 feet down and biting 1/8th oz jig head with a blue ice colored jig. Also, try white, silver, or clown colored ¼ oz Bink’s spoons. A few walleye are starting to hit a jerk bait on main lake points. They have also been biting on ¼ oz Bink’s spoon or Rapala Jig-N-Rap.
TABLE ROCK: 46 degrees, clear main lake (clear to stained rivers), 1.3 feet high Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: For bass, the jerkbait has started to catch a few on steeper rocky banks arounds standing timber. Most fish have been suspended 5-10 feet over 15-25 feet of water. Jigs have been effective on mixed rock and gravel points 10-25 feet deep on the main lake 8-15 feet deep in the rivers. A-rigs have been working on steeper banks and points around standing timber. The deep bite has been good on spoons and jigging lures, most fish are 40-60 feet deep on gravel points. White Bass are fair to good and most are being caught deep in the rivers 35-50 feet down on gravel points. Most crappie are being caught on jigs and baby shad lures around brush in the rivers 15-30 feet deep.
TANEYCOMO: 47 degrees, clear, 10,000 CFS Outlook: Lilleys’ Landing reports: generation is continuous but has lowered a small amount. Fishing has been very good this week. Minnows and nightcrawlers have been working very well lately on the bottom. Best area has been from Monkey Island down to Branson Landing. PowerEggs will catch you rainbows as well. White marabou jigs have been working from Fall Creek down to Branson Landing. Anglers are also dragging small minnow imitation hard baits along the bottom using a Carolina rig. Drifting with #12 scuds and San Juan worms in cerise and pink color is still a hot technique to reel in trout both in and down from the Trophy Area. 1/8th oz sculpin colored marabou jigs have been producing in the Trophy Area as well. Jerkbait fishing has been good in the first and last hour of the day.
TRUMAN: 36 degrees, stained, 7.5 feet high (18,000 CFS) Outlook: Richard Bowling Guide Service reports: Crappie have been great. They are being caught 8-10 feet deep in the upper end of the lake fishing 10 feet of water and more. On the lower end of the lake, fish 18 feet down in 20 feet of water and more. Fish the bluffs and the mouth of the creeks. Catfish bite is very slow recently.
Kansas
CLINTON: 33 degrees, dingy, normal (500 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Good reports of crappie coming from deep water down to 30 feet over channel breaks and brush using small jigs. Very delicate bite, anglers are lowering down jigs and trying to keep them still. Boat Ramp # 1 and 2 (Marina) are open in the State Park. The west ramps (#3) in the State Park are closed as is Campground 3 for repairs. Also, the Bloomington Ramps are open, but the docks may not be in.
COFFEY COUNTY: mid 30s/low 40s, clear, about normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: Fishing near the hot water outlet should be most productive for white bass and wipers. Use shad imitation lures and swimbaits. Both channel and blue catfish have been fair to good. Working wind blown banks with various baits should be productive or try creek channel swings and humps. Entrance gate phone number is 620-364-2475. Be sure to call ahead for lake conditions.
EL DORADO: mid 30s, stained, 0.3 feet high (13 CFS) Outlook: KS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism: All boat ramps usable. Trout fishing has slowed due to water release which has dispersed the fish. You can find them on baits such as PowerBait, cheese, spinners, spoons, and small jigs and flies. Crappie are slow to fair in flooded timber and brush piles on minnows and jigs, but far from great fishing right now.
GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): low 30s, stained, 1 foot low (600 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Lake is 80% ice covered as of Jan. 21. ALL BOAT RAMPS are frozen in and cannot be used. There have only been a couple of anglers attempting to ice fish near Boller Point. The ice is approximately 4 inches off the Boller Point boat ramp, but there are still open holes north of the ramp and anglers are advised not to venture out too far. The rest of the reservoir is not safe for ice fishing at this time. The park pond should be safe for ice fishing for trout, but as always, anglers are advised to use extreme caution when heading out onto the ice and always fish with someone else. Crappie are biting very well if you can safely find them.
HILLSDALE: 36 degrees, stained, 0.4 feet low (160 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Crappie are fair in brush piles or near the heated marina dock using minnows and jigs about 20 feet down on minnows and jigs.
LA CYGNE: upper 30s, clear, normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: all ramps open. White bass are fair near the hot water outlet. Some wipers have been caught out over the bridge. They can be found chasing gizzard shad on the surface as well. Largemouth are very slow on deep side of riprap areas and weed beds. Crappie are close to brush in 5-12 feet of water on jigs or minnows. For information on the Linn County Marina boat ramps, call 913-757-6633.
MELVERN: 33 degrees, stained, 1 foot low (500 CFS) Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: All boat ramps accessible. Crappie are fair over established brush piles and along the docks on minnows and small ice jigs. Smallmouth are fair lakewide on shallow crankbaits or minnows. White bass are fair on shallow crankbaits on wind blown banks. All other species poor or no reports.
MILFORD: 30 degrees, stained, 3.5 feet low (1800 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: 10% ice coverage. Channel catfish fair on cut bait, worms, and stink bait. Blue catfish fair on fresh cut bait. Target wind blown flats. Crappie fair 10-20 feet deep suspended near points, flooded brush, and ledges on jigs and minnows. Walleye good near rocky or wind-swept mud banks with jigs. White bass and wipers are fair on jigs in the river on the north end of the reservoir.
PERRY: 35 degrees, clear, 2 feet low Outlook: Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle reports: Thompsonville ramp was open, but some other ramps have had ice so use caution. There is quite a bit of ice in the coves. The agitators are on in the marinas. Things slowed down a bit but guys are still catching their limits. Crappie are very good around the docks and moving deeper 15-25 feet down. Bobby Garland plastic baits have been really popular in a variety of colors. Blue cats have been good recently in the channels.
POMONA: 33 degrees, stained, 1.2 feet low (250 CFS Tues) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Crappie are biting very well. Good sizes of 10-11 inches are being caught around the rock quarry, the heated docks and along Dragoon. Best baits are dark jigs and/or minnows. All other species slow.
TUTTLE CREEK: 32 degrees, clear, 3.5 feet low (6000 CFS) Outlook: Kansas Department of Wildlife reports: things are getting back to normal now. Crappie are good over brush piles with jigs and minnows 15-20 feet deep. The high release rates have moved a lot of saugeye from the Reservoir downstream which has led to some good fishing in the River Pond, the river below the dam or at Rocky Ford. The fourth stocking of rainbow trout for Willow Lake was completed on February 4th. So far this trout season, Willow Lake has been stocked with 5,450 trout. As of 2/4, there was no ice on the lake. Anglers have been doing well with traditional trout baits or power baits. A trout permit is required for fishing at Willow Lake during the trout season.
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.