Outdoors report: Dropping temps can mean icing, so get out and hunt while you can

Here is the fishing and hunting report for lakes and reservoirs in the Kansas City area and regionally around Kansas and Missouri for December 18, 2019.

FISHING

Missouri

BULL SHOALS: 53 degrees, dingy to clear (10-12 feet) visibility, 8 feet high Outlook: Del Colvin Guide Service reports: Fishing is fair on cloudy days. Look for birds, loons and gulls actively feeding to find the shad at the surface. They’ll be at the top down to 70 feet, halfway back in creeks into major creeks, the shad seem to be breaking up in the tributaries, and hollows. No wind or sun, go deep on drop shots, rapala ice jigs, spoons, or damiki rigs. Bushes are still holding fish. On cloudy days try jig on ledge transitions. Wind will help rock crawler/wiggle wart bite but need to stay in the wind on steeper banks with big rock or ledges. Crappie are showing up in brush piles that are around shad 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 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 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: 53 degrees, clear, two units all day Outlook: Lilleys’ Landing reports: Drifting scuds has been productive from the dam down to Short Creek. 1/16th-ounce jigs using two-pound line is working well. The black and yellow jig is producing. Smaller weights are okay with less flow, try 1/8th oz bell weights or split shots to get drift rigs down. The flow is great from Cooper Creek down for using the pink Berkley’s Power Worm under a float. Start four feet down and go deeper from there. Use four-pound line, although two-pound would get you more bites. Fly fishing using a scud under a float should work well as long as you get the scud to the bottom. Use a big enough float to float the scud and the weight needed to get it to the bottom. Fish the scud at least six- to eight-feet deep just about anywhere and go deeper if needed. If the size 12’s aren’t working, go smaller. Use gray, brown, tan, or orange scuds.

NORFORK: 52 degrees, stained, normal Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: crappie are still biting the best of all species. The ¼ oz Bink’s spoon is working well for multi-species 28 feet down in the brush piles. Stripers are at 35-55 feet deep back in the creeks. They are biting Bink’s 1oz spoons.

LONGVIEW: 41 degrees, dingy, normal Outlook: Longview Marina reports: Largemouth and crappie have slowed down in the last week. You can find crappie using black/pink jigs 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. Marina will close Dec 23-Jan 2 for holiday. 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: 40 degrees, clear, 2 feet high (50 CFS) Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: crappie have been hammering over brush piles on jigs and minnows. All other species have really slowed down.

LAKE OF THE OZARKS: 48 degrees, clear, 2 feet low Outlook: Gier’s Bass Pro reports: fish are on the winter pattern. Things have been slow recently. Crappie are 15 feet deep over brush. Jerkbait bite for bass will start picking up soon.

JAMES A. REED: 33 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Missouri Dept. of Conservation reports: Trout fishing is fair using a variety of baits. All other species slow. Some skim ice has been showing up. Join Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook Group for daily updates.

STOCKTON: 45 degrees, clear, 2.5 feet high (40 CFS Tuesday) Outlook: Tandem Fly Outfitters reports: Crappie starting to make tradition to their winter patterns and are hitting 1/16th oz jigs up to ¼ oz if it’s windy and they are deep. Walleye are on main lake points with a shooter head or ¼ oz road runner tipped with a crawler. Bass are eating whatever you like to throw. Ned rig will get numbers and jigs will get you quality on main lake and secondary point in 1-30 feet. White bass are pushing up on windy points and can be caught on 1/4oz road runner or 1/4oz rooster tail. Fishing is excellent across the board.

JACOMO: upper 30s/low 40s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group reports: Crappie are fair around breaks and channels over brush piles. Look for them near brush or standing timber using minnows or jigs. Bass are hitting jerkbaits and A-rigs. All other species have been slow to fair.

BLUE SPRINGS: upper 30s/low 40s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook Group reports: Whites and wipers have been slow to fair on windblown banks. Bass are hitting jerkbaits, A-rigs, and jigs but are still slow. Crappie are slow, but can be found fishing slowly over brush near channel breaks.

TABLE ROCK: 50 degrees, clear main lake (clear to stained in rivers), .75 feet high Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: For bass, crankbaits are working 8-10 feet deep on steeper chunk rock banks and channel swings. 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 fish are suspended between 15-25 feet deep holding close to the 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.

TRUMAN: 38 degrees, stained, 2.4 feet high Outlook: Richard Bowling Guide Service reports: Crappie are being caught on the bluffs and bluff pockets fishing 18-20 feet of water and more. Fish in the mouth of the pockets and along the bluffs. Bite is good on minnows and jigs. Catfish are along the river channels and can be caught anchor fishing in 3-15 feet of water. Fan cast the poles using fresh cut bait.

SMITHVILLE: 34 degrees, clear, 0.7 feet high Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: changes by the day. One day it’s good, the next it’s tough. 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. Annual drawdown will start Dec 23.

Kansas

MELVERN: 41 degrees, stained, 1.3 feet high (20 CFS) Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: All boat ramps accessible. Crappie are good near established brush piles and along the docks on minnows and dark jigs. Smallmouth are fair lakewide on shallow crankbaits. White bass are fair on shallow crankbaits on wind blown banks. All other species poor or no reports.

CLINTON: 43 degrees, dingy, 0.5 feet high (1500 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Crappie are biting well and should start to bunch up over channels. Anglers have been catching fish mainly using jigs and minnows over brush. Boat Ramp 1 and 2 (Marina) are open in the State Park. The west ramps (#3) in the State Park was supposed to be open by Dec 12. Also, one of the Bloomington Ramps (#7) is open, but the docks may not be in.

PERRY: upper 30s/low 40s, clear, normal Outlook: Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle reports: Crappie are very good around the docks and moving deeper 15-25 feet down. White bass and smallies have been biting well in the last week.

COFFEY COUNTY: low 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: low 40s, 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 fair on deep side of riprap areas and weed beds. Jerkbaits will pick up soon. Crappie are close to brush in 5-12 feet of water on jigs or minnows. Catfishing is good on cutbait. Fish feeders are off for the year. For information on the Linn County Marina boat ramps, call 913-757-6633.

POMONA: 34 degrees, stained, 2.2 feet high (15 CFS Monday) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Fish feeders are off. Catfish have really slowed down. Cutbait or prepared baits are best right now. Crappie are good with some nice fish caught especially around the rock quarry, the heated docks and along Dragoon. Best baits are dark jigs and/or minnows. White bass/wipers have been slow. Walleye are slow, but can be found off the dam or along deeper, steep banks on crank baits or jigs tipped with nightcrawlers.

MILFORD: 40 degrees, stained, 2 feet low (2000 CFS Mon) Outlook: KDWPT reports: 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: 36 degrees, stained, 0.8 feet high Outlook: KDWPT reports: Crappie are fair in brush piles or near the heated marina dock using minnows and jigs about 20 feet down. Walleye are slow but some have been found on shallow rocky points and adjacent mud flats. White bass are good on windblown points. Bass are moving deeper and slow plastic baits are the best tactic.

GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): 38 degrees, stained, normal (500 CFS Mon) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Crappie are fair to good shallow feeding 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. Smallmouth fishing has been great 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: 40 degrees, clear, 2.2 feet low (2,000 CFS) Outlook: Kansas Department of Wildlife reports: Very few reports on fishing this past week. All species are considered slow other than blue cats Willow Lake has been stocked with 2,670 trout so far this year.

EL DORADO: low 40s, stained, 0.3 feet low (13 CFS Monday) Outlook: KS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism: All boat ramps usable. Wipers are fair vertically fishing jigs along roads, points, breaks, or other fish holding structure. White bass are fair on main lake points and windy shorelines on curly tailed grubs or inline spinners. Blue cats are fair on fresh cut bait on windy points and shorelines.

HUNTING

Missouri

Eagle Bluffs CA: Last report 12/17, roughly 27950 ducks were observed. 27 hunters harvested 5 ducks in the last week.

Fountain Grove CA: Last report 12/15, no duck survey reported. 71 hunters harvested 100 ducks in the last week.

Four Rivers CA: Last report 12/15, roughly 12845 ducks present. 32 hunters harvested 68 ducks in the last week.

Grand Pass CA: Last report 12/11, roughly 39,200 ducks present. 10 hunters harvested 6 ducks in the last update.

Nodaway Valley CA: Last report 12/15, roughly 800 ducks were present. 20 hunters harvested 29 ducks in the last week.

Otter Slough CA: Last report 12/16, roughly 40675 ducks were present. 62 hunters harvested 205 ducks for a 2.1 per hunter average.

Loess Bluffs NWR: Last report 12/9, roughly 13,700 ducks were present along with 56,800 geese. Mostly mallards and snow geese.

Swan Lake: Last report 12/10, roughly 78,800 ducks were observed including 77,796 mallards. 31000 geese also present, almost all Snows. Through 12/8, 292 hunters have harvested an average of 1.34 ducks per hunter.

Kansas

CHEYENNE BOTTOMS: Last report 12/16, less than 1,000 ducks, mostly mallards. Around 75,000 geese, mostly snows with a few Canadas and whitefronts. Goose numbers vary depending on day. Hunters averaged 1.39 duck per hunter over the weekend.

MARAIS DES CYGNES: Last report 12/16, less than 12,000 ducks and likely decreasing as conditions deteriorate. This weekend: 199 ducks / 127 hunters = 1.6 success. Harvest was greater than 85% mallards. Season: 2,772 ducks / 1,991 hunters = 1.4 success. Season goose harvest: 24 dark geese, 2 snow geese.

NEOSHO: Last report 12/17 - 15000-20,000 ducks mainly Mallards. 1500 White-fronts, 500 Canada Geese and 8,000 Snow Geese. Hunters are averaging 1.9 birds per hour through 12/17.

PERRY: Last report 12/6 - A few hundred mixed species including geese were seen in the area. Due to significant and repeated flooding wetland habitat conditions are poor.

QUIVIRA: Last report 12/10, there were roughly 5,900 geese and 4,800 ducks on the area. Mostly mallards and snow geese.

MELVERN: Last report 12/13, 3 Duck Marsh - Both units are pumped, 65 mallards and 8 Canada geese were observed at the time of the survey; Willow Marsh - North and South units are partially pumped with 1 bufflehead observed at the time of the survey; Sundance Marsh - This unit is pumped, 2 mallards and 1 wigeon were observed at the time of the survey; Lowman’s Cove - All units are completely full. 9 mallards and 26 geese were observed at the time of the survey; Shoveler Slough - 50 mallards observed at the time of the survey; Refuge - There were approximately 2300 mallards and 250 goldeneye and buffleheads observed at the time of 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.