Outdoors report: Sportsmen set for Missouri firearms opener, warm weekend fishing
Here is the fishing and hunting report for lakes and reservoirs in the Kansas City area and regionally around Kansas and Missouri for November 13, 2019.
FISHING
Missouri
BULL SHOALS: 55 degrees, dingy to clear (5 feet) visibility, 10 feet high Outlook: Del Colvin Guide Service reports: Fishing is fair on cloudy days. The shad are at the surface to 25 feet down halfway back in creeks on secondary points to all the way back into major creeks and tributaries. No wind or sun, go deep on drop shots or spoons 20-30 feet down on points or bluffs close to old channel. Topwater is hit or miss. Bushes are still holding fish. Try jig on ledge transitions. Wind will help spinnerbait bite but need to stay in the wind. Walleye are fair trolling around shad 20-25 feet down early in the morning. Crappie are showing up in brush piles. 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 Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam will close from November 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020 to accommodate the brown trout spawn. The hot spot has been the Rim 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 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.
TANEYCOMO: 59-61 degrees, clear, consistent heavy flow Outlook: Lilleys’ Landing reports: Flood gates are open, limiting wading opportunities, but the flow is expected to change very soon. Scud population is exploding and trout are hitting them hard. Drift a scud along the bottom without a float using larger sizes, 8-10, on four-pound line. Drifting white shad flies (aka pine squirrels) from the cable to the ramp has been a good option, too. 1/8th oz white marabou jigs are doing very well worked slowly along the bottom. Dragging white crankbaits in the trophy area has been productive, too. Below Fall Creek, night crawlers have been bringing in fish, along with a few Powerbait eggs. ¼ oz weights are still recommended.
NORFORK: upper 50s, stained, about 1.5 feet high Outlook: Hummingbird Hideaway resort reports: fish are relating to flats right now. Hybrids and stripers have been best in the backs of creeks in 20-40 feet of water. White bass are very good on vertical jigs, ½ to ¾ oz. They will be on the bottom or suspended 15–25 feet down. The bait has moved out to the flats in 30-50 feet of water so you’ll find whites nearby. The bass continue to be shallow, very close to the shoreline. Crankbaits are working very well. The crappie bite is very good. You’ll need to move around to multiple brush piles to stay on them. ¼ oz spoon in firetiger, white and chartreuse, white and green and white and pink are good. The fish have been from 10 – 20 feet down over brush.
LONGVIEW: 41degrees, dingy, normal Outlook: Longview Marina reports: some walleye have been caught from the marina recently. Crappie are good lakewide using minnows or jigs 8-15 feet down with some big ones caught near the marina. They’ve been better in the coves than at the marina recently. Whites are still hitting on windy banks. Fishing hours are 8am-12:30pm M-F. Join Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group for daily updates.
POMME DE TERRE: 53 degrees, clear, 1 foot high (1500 CFS Wed) Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: Fishing has been slow with cool weather moving in. Crappie are being caught on jigs and minnows near standing timber.
LAKE OF THE OZARKS: mid to upper 50s, stained, 2.5 feet low Outlook: Gier’s Bass Pro reports: very few people out fishing in the recent cooldown. If the sun is shining, crappie are sitting up shallow below the foam of docks or in shallow brush piles in 3 feet of water.
JAMES A. REED: 36 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Missouri Dept. of Conservation reports: Crappie are good using jigs and minnows near brush. All other species slow. Area is closed November 11-14 for a management deer hunt.
STOCKTON: 52 degrees, clear, 1 foot high (40 CFS Tuesday) Outlook: Tandem Fly Outfitters reports: Walleye are fair to good on a Jakked shooter head tipped with a nightcrawler and trolling flicker shad in 12-15 feet. Crappie are suspended around brush from 15-25 feet on jig or minnow using a 1/16th-1/8th oz jig head. Bass are scattered. Have a jig and a crankbait tied on. White bass are scattered, but trolling a rooster tail or flicker shad will help you find them.
JACOMO: low to mid 40s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group reports: Crappie are fair to good around the docks. Look for them near brush or standing timber using minnows or jigs. All other species have been slow to fair.
BLUE SPRINGS: low to mid 40s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook Group reports: whites and wipers have been fair to good on windblown banks. Crappie are fair and can be found 8-12 feet deep on jigs or minnows in brush or standing trees. Anglers are finding success from the bank recently.
TABLE ROCK: 60 degrees, clear (muddy in rivers), 2.8 feet high Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: flood gates open on Table Rock and Beaver. Bass can be caught on a variety of baits and depths. Small jigs, tubes and Ned rigs are working on mixed gravel and rock points 4-15 feet deep. On windy days crankbaits and spinnerbaits are effective on steeper banks and around wood cover 5-10 feet deep. Deep fish are holding on gravel points 32-52 feet deep and can be caught on Jigging spoons. White Bass are starting to show up on gravel flats in the river arms, most are 25-35 feet deep and can be caught on jigging spoons. White crappie are good on jigs and live minnows fished around standing timber 12-18 feet deep.
TRUMAN: 44 degrees, stained, 0.4 feet high (0 CFS Tuesday) Outlook: Richard Bowling Guide Service reports: Crappie are being caught on the lower lake fishing the bluffs and the bluff pockets in 16 feet of water and more fishing 15 feet down. Jigs and minnows both working. Catfish are in 5-10 feet of water on main lake flats.
SMITHVILLE: low to mid 40s, clear, 0.5 feet high (8 CFS) Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: things have been slowing down. Crappie are still good but having to find them around the docks. White bass have been good on the main lake with a walleye mixed in.
Kansas
SHAWNEE MISSION PARK: low 40s, clear, normal Outlook: Trout were recently stocked and are good on Powerbait. Crappie and panfish are fair on worms and minnows. Catfish are fair on cut bait, stink bait, or chicken liver. Bass/wipers have been fair on jigs.
KILL CREEK PARK: low 40s, clear, normal Outlook: Trout were recently stocked and some lunkers have already been caught. They are biting well on Powerbait. Crappie and panfish are fair on worms or minnows. Bass are fair on plastics and spinner baits. Catfish are fair on chicken liver.
MELVERN: 52 degrees, stained, 1.25 feet high (20 CFS Monday) Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: All boat ramps accessible. Crappie are fair to good near submerged trees and along the docks on minnows and dark jigs. Smallmouth are good lakewide on tubes and shallow crankbaits. White bass are fair to good on shallow crankbaits on wind blown banks. Channel cats are fair lakewide on nightcrawlers and livers. Blue catfish are fair at the west end of the lake and in the stilling basin on shad sides and entrails. Walleye are poor, but a few have been caught trolling deep crankbaits recently.
CLINTON: low 40s, dingy, 9.5 feet high (1000 CFS Tuesday) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Boat ramp #1 is open in the state park. Crappie are fair over brush on minnows and jigs. Wipers are showing themselves at the surface in the late evenings over rocky areas. Road to Lake Henry is closed, as crews resurface the parking lot. Cedar Ridge/Hickory/Walnut campgrounds in Bloomington East Park are closed for the winter.
PERRY: upper 40s, clear, about 14 feet high (3000 CFS Wed) Outlook: Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle reports: Rock Creek Marina and Slough Creek boat ramp are open. Crappie are very good around the docks and moving more shallow in general. They are good on the main lake as well. White bass and smallies have been biting well in the last week.
COFFEY COUNTY (WOLF CREEK): mid to upper 40s, clear, 0.5 feet low Outlook: KDWPT reports: Not much fishing has occurred in the last week with cold weather Fishing was very slow for the few that made it out. White bass and wipers will hit if you can find them. Entrance gate phone number is 620-364-2475. Be sure to call ahead for lake conditions.
LA CYGNE: mid to upper 40s, stained, normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: no major changes. Some good white bass are still being caught near the hot water outlet. Largemouth are slow to fair on deep side of riprap areas and weed beds. Use cranks, plastic worms, lizards or spinner baits. Slow moving baits are the ticket. Crappie are close to brush in 5-12 feet of water on jigs or minnows. Catfishing has been excellent. For information on the Linn County Marina boat ramps, call 913-757-6633.
POMONA: 40 degrees, stained, 2.2 feet high (15 CFS Monday) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Channel catfish are good using worms, dip baits , sunfish entrails, cutshad, or stink/prepared baits. Crappie are fair, but very quality fish are being caught around the docks. All other species are slow.
MILFORD: 50 degrees, stained, 12.4 feet high (8000 CFS Tuesday) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Most boat ramps are still closed. Channel catfish are fair on cut bait, worms, and stink bait. Blue catfish are fair on fresh cut bait. Target wind blown flats. Anglers are also targeting flooded areas around the lake for catfish. Crappie are fair to good and are 10-20 feet deep suspended near points, flooded brush, and ledges on jigs and minnows. Walleye are good near rocky or wind-swept mud banks with jigs, crankbaits, or bottom bouncers. White bass and wipers are fair on jigs in the river on the north end of the reservoir.
HILLSDALE: 40 degrees, stained, 1 foot high (3 CFS Monday) Outlook: KDWPT reports: No changes. Crappie are fair in brush piles using minnows about 8-10 feet down. Bass are picking up near shallow vegetation on plastics or topwater. Some recent reports on walleye using crankbaits and jigs. Channel catfish are good on cut bait and nightcrawlers.
GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): low 40s, stained, 1 foot high (400 CFS Tuesday) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Crappie are picking up shallow to feed on shad and other small fish and can be caught from the bank around Granite Creek, Osage Cove, Marina Cove, and the south bluffs. Walleye are fair to good in 5-10 feet of water early and late in the day near Walnut Creek, along the dam, and off the north shore points along the state park. Good numbers are being caught below the dam as well. Smallmouth fishing has been great lately with reports of many 3-4 pound smallmouth caught around the state park area and along the dam. In addition, anglers should be able to find these guys in Osage Cove, Walnut Creek, Granite Creek, Mill Creek, and Schoen’s Cove. There are good numbers of largemouth bass being caught in the state park coves, along Granite Creek, and along the south bluffs. White bass are outstanding and being caught on the lower end of the reservoir around the dam and state park area as well as the Walnut Creek area. Good numbers of 15 to 17 inch fish with 4-10 pound wipers mixed in.
TUTTLE CREEK: 50 degrees, clear, 30.5 feet high (14,000 CFS Tuesday) Outlook: Kansas Department of Wildlife reports: No changes. High water still limiting fishing. Very few anglers. Saugeye continue to be found downstream in the River Pond. Catfish have been fair on the main lake. Willow Lake was stocked with 1,280 trout in preparation for trout season opener on November 1st.
WILSON: mid to upper 40s, clear, 0.6 feet low Outlook: KDWPT reports: Stripers are fair caught shallow in cooling temps. Walleye are fair drifting soft plastics early and late near vegetation 4-10 feet down. Marshall Cove and the Sawhill/Duvall area are holding shallow walleye. Channel cats are good throughout the reservoir on worms and dough bait. Blue cats are best at Minooka West and Duvall to Horseshoe bend in 6-20 feet of water. White bass are fair on 1/16 oz. jigs on windblown points near Lucas.
EL DORADO: low 40s, stained, 0.1 feet low (14 CFS Monday) Outlook: KS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism: All boat ramps usable. Wipers and white bass are fair trolling or casting crank baits along windy shorelines. Blue cats are back in the river channels now. Crappie are fair near timber or brush piles on minnows and jigs. Walleye are fair trolling #9 and larger crankbaits along windblown shorelines, points, and flats.
HUNTING
Missouri
Swan Lake: On 11/12, roughly 74,900 mallards, 700 greenwing teal, 19900 Northern Pintail, and 1000 geese were observed.
Duck Creek CA: On 11/4, roughly 430 Gadwalls, 5205 Mallards, 3107 Pintails, 4100 Ring-Necked ducks, 75 Shovelers, 280 Teal, and 15 Wigeon were observed. In the last week, 56 hunters reported harvesting 80 ducks.
Four Rivers CA: On 11/4, roughly 1150 Gadwalls, 20755 Mallards, 4300 Pintails, 150 Ring-Necked ducks, 900 Shovelers, and 9925 Teal were observed. 39 hunters harvested 79 ducks in last week.
Grand Pass CA: On 11/5, roughly 726 Gadwalls, 3631 Mallards, 726 Mixed dabblers, 726 Pintails, and 1452 Teal were observed. 61 hunters harvest 90 ducks in the last week.
Mingo NWR: On 11/4, roughly 3243 Gadwalls, 9045 Mallards, 525 Mixed dabblers, 1105 Pintails, 42 Ring-Necked ducks, 881 Shovelers, 1602 Teal, and 452 Wigeon were observed.
Otter Slough CA: On 11/4, roughly 4565 Gadwalls, 8515 Mallards, 255 Mixed dabblers, 45 Mixed divers, 10686 Pintails, 672 Ring-Necked ducks, 1125 Shovelers, 3305 Teal, and 2835 Wigeon were observed.
Fountain Grove CA: On 11/5, roughly 3073 Gadwalls, 15367 Mallards, 3073 Mixed dabblers, 3073 Pintails, and 6146 Teal were observed. 100 hunters harvested 196 ducks in the last week.
Loess Bluffs NWR: On 11/3, roughly 1275 Gadwalls, 62685 Mallards, 328 Mixed divers, 39625 Pintails, 2065 Ring-Necked ducks, 950 Shovelers, 5230 Teal, and 60 Wigeon were observed.
Nodaway Valley CA: On 11/4, roughly 750 Gadwalls, 8200 Mallards, 2075 Mixed dabblers, 1100 Pintails, and 1250 Teal were observed.
Kansas
CHEYENNE BOTTOMS: On 11/12, less than 2,000 ducks, mostly mallards. Around 200,000 geese, good numbers of whitefronts, snows, and Canadas. Most of the birds are staying in the refuge. For the period of 11/2-11/7, hunters have averaged 2.59 ducks per hunter. High pressure and poor habitat is going to make for a tough duck season. Teal season average was 2.62 teal per hunter.
MARAIS DES CYGNES: On 11/12, Estimated greater than 25,000 early migrants (about 35% mallards). before opener -- likely fewer now due to opening weekend activity plus ice. Opening day: 488 ducks / 172 hunters = 2.8 success. 3-day weekend: 795 ducks / 300 hunters = 2.7 success. About 40% mallards.
NEOSHO: On 11/12, 25,000-30,000 ducks mainly Mallards, Teal, Gadwall and Pintail. 1000 White-fronts, 300 Canada Geese and 8,000 Snow Geese. Opening weekend was a bit crowded but had good success. Hunters are averaging over 2 BPH. Teal Season 2019 - 129 Hunters harvested 384 teal for a 2.98 BPH average. 32 Youth Hunters Harvested 133 ducks for a 4.15 bph. 20% of the Harvest was teal, 53% Mallards.
PERRY: On 11/7, 1,000 ducks were observed including an increase in Mallard numbers with some Wood Ducks, Shovelers, Green-wing Teal and Gadwalls still around. Some divers also started to show up such as Ring-necks and Buffleheads on the open water areas. West River Boat Ramp/Parking area and Kyle Marsh Parking area/ramps are still inaccessible due to flood waters.
HILLSDALE: On 11/7, a large influx of waterfowl recently occurred on the Hillsdale Wildlife Area. Mallards, wood ducks, gadwalls, American Wigeon, Northern shovelers, blue-winged teal, and green-winged teal have all been surveyed. Large groups of geese with numbers in the 500’s have been seen in flight over the area, along with around 30 Canada geese that have stayed close to the dam. About 6000 divers were seen on the reservoir. Ring-necked ducks, goldeneyes, canvas backs, and scaup are likely to be represented in that group.
TUTTLE CREEK: On 11/6, about 800 ducks and 250 Canada Geese. Due to the flooding expected success is very low due to the lack of food and cover.
MILFORD: On 11/7, were some rafts of 200-300 ducks seen throughout the previous week. Heavy flooding will greatly impact hunter success here this season.
QUIVIRA: On 11/8, there were roughly 55,500 geese and 10,000 ducks on the area. Ducks were mixed species of mallards, northern pintail, northern shoveler, redhead, american wigeon and others. Geese were primarily white-fronted, snows, and cackling.
MELVERN: On 11/8, 3 Duck Marsh - Both units are pumped with approximately 35 mallards and 40 Canada geese; Willow Marsh - North and South units are partially pumped with 30 teal and a couple of buffleheads; Sundance Marsh - This unit is full, hunters were observed at the time of the survey; Lowman’s Cove - All units are completely full. No waterfowl was observed on the survey; Shoveler Slough - No waterfowl observed at the time of the survey; Refuge - There were no waterfowl observed on the survey.
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.