Outdoors report: Local anglers taking advantage of urban trout program in KC Metro

Here is the fishing and hunting report for lakes and reservoirs in the Kansas City area and regionally around Kansas and Missouri for November 20, 2019.

FISHING

Missouri

BULL SHOALS: 56 degrees, dingy to clear (10-15 feet) visibility, 13 feet high Outlook: Del Colvin Guide Service reports: Fishing is fair on cloudy days. Look for birds to find the shad at the surface. They’ll be at the top 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 30-50 feet down close to main channel. Bushes are still holding fish. Try jig on ledge transitions. Wind will help spinnerbait and rock crawler/wiggle wart bite but need to stay in the wind. 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, low flow Outlook: Lilleys’ Landing reports: spill gates are now closed. Threadfin shad and a variety of warm water species have entered the lake while they were open. Fishing has been very good in the slower water. Scud population is exploding and trout are hitting them depending on the day. 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. 1/32nd oz black/yellow marabou jigs are doing very well worked slowly along the bottom. Below Fall Creek, night crawlers have been bringing in fish, along with a few Powerbait eggs. ¼ oz weights are still recommended.

NORFORK: 60 degrees, stained, about 1.5 feet high Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: crappie are biting well on the ¼ oz Bink’s spoon at 30 feet in backs of creeks over brush piles. Silver spoon with blue back has been best. Stripers are 35 feet hitting the ¼ oz white spoon. Walleye are hitting the same spoon as well halfway back in the creeks in the same depth.

LONGVIEW: 41 degrees, 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. There won’t be minnows at the marina until March 2020. Join Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group for daily updates.

POMME DE TERRE: 53 degrees, clear, normal (50 CFS Wed) Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: Things are still slow overall. 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: 42 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Missouri Dept. of Conservation reports: Trout fishing is excellent using a variety of baits. Crappie are fair using jigs and minnows near brush. All other species slow.

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: 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: 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: 58 degrees, clear (muddy in rivers), normal 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: mid to upper 40s, stained, 2.5 feet high Outlook: Richard Bowling Guide Service reports: Crappie are on big time and 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 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: Johnson County Parks and Rec reports: Trout 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. Next week will be last report for JOCO lakes until Feb 2020.

KILL CREEK PARK: low 40s, clear, normal Outlook: Johnson County Parks and Rec reports: Trout are biting well on Powerbait. Crappie and panfish are fair on worms or minnows. Bass are fair on slow moving plastics. Next week will be last report for JOCO lakes until Feb 2020.

MELVERN: 52 degrees, stained, 1.2 feet high (20 CFS Tuesday) Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: All boat ramps accessible. Crappie are very good near established brush piles 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: 48 degrees, dingy, 8.1 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.

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): low to mid 40s, clear, about normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: Fishing continues to be 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 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 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: 39 degrees, stained, 1 foot high Outlook: KDWPT reports: No changes. Crappie are fair in brush piles using minnows and jigs about 10-25 feet down. Keeper walleye have been caught off the docks on larger jigs. White bass are good on windblown points. Channel catfish are good on cut bait and nightcrawlers.

GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): low 40s, stained, 1 foot high (700 CFS Wednesday) 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 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 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

Whitetail Firearms opening weekend results: Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) showed that MO deer hunters harvested 88,843 deer during the opening weekend of the November portion of the fall firearms deer season Nov. 16 and 17. Of the 88,843 deer harvested, 51,086 were antlered bucks, 8,115 were button bucks, and 29,642 were does.

Top harvest counties were Franklin with 2,078, Texas with 1,931, and Callaway with 1,735.

Last year, hunters checked 99,470 deer during the opening weekend of the 2018 November portion of firearms deer season.

Swan Lake: On 11/19, roughly 99,000 ducks were observed including 76,000 mallards.

Duck Creek CA: On 11/15, roughly 7,900 ducks were observed. In the last week, 44 hunters reported harvesting 66 ducks.

Four Rivers CA: On 11/15, roughly 27,000 ducks were observed. 28 hunters harvested 19 ducks in last week.

Grand Pass CA: On 11/13, roughly 11,500 ducks were observed. 13 hunters harvest 2 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. As of 11/14, 78 hunters harvested 103 ducks in the previous week.

Fountain Grove CA: On 11/5, roughly 3073 Gadwalls, 15367 Mallards, 3073 Mixed dabblers, 3073 Pintails, and 6146 Teal were observed. As of 11/17, 99 hunters harvested 206 ducks in the last week.

Loess Bluffs NWR: On 11/18, roughly 17,000 ducks were present along with 153,000 geese.

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 11/14, 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.

MARAIS DES CYGNES: On 11/18, estimated 20,000 ducks and some geese. This weekend (Sat - Sun): 209 ducks / 155 hunters = 1.3 success. Season: 1,107 ducks / 576 hunters = 1.9 success. About 40% mallards.

NEOSHO: On 11/18, 25,000-30,000 ducks, mainly Mallards, Teal, Gadwall and Pintail. 1000 White-fronts, 300 Canada Geese and 8,000 Snow Geese.

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.

QUIVIRA: On 11/14, there were roughly 12,100 geese and 2,800 ducks on the area. Ducks were mixed species of mallards and green-winged teal. Geese were primarily white-fronted and snows.

MELVERN: On 11/15, 3 Duck Marsh - Both units are pumped with approximately 75 mallards; Willow Marsh - North and South units are partially pumped with no waterfowl observed at the time of the survey; 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 approximately 350 waterfowl and 200 geese.

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.