Outdoors report: Weather looks great for fishing over the next week
Here is the fishing and hunting report for lakes and reservoirs in the Kansas City area and regionally around Kansas and Missouri for February 26, 2020.
FISHING
Missouri
BLUE SPRINGS: mid 30s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook Group reports: crappie around the marina is your best bet.Folks are still getting into them using jigs or minnows. You may have to work through some to find the quality fish.
BULL SHOALS: 46 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. Little bit of a shad kill going on. They’ll be at the top down to 60 feet. Tops of trees are holding shad 40 to 60 feet down halfway back to the mouths of major creeks. The shad seem to be breaking up with water generation so use your graph to find the bigger pods. Jerkbaits, swimbaits, and A-rigs are producing. Cranking is good if there’s wind. Target channel swing transitions. A small group of fish are starting to move up. No wind or sun, go deep on points 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 has been the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam where there was a shad kill. 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: mid 30s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group reports: Look for crappie around the marina using jigs or minnows. They may also be sitting down deep on brush. A-Rigs and jerk baits for bass should produce a few. You may run into some ice in the coves but it’s gone mostly.
JAMES A. REED: 41 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Missouri Dept. of Conservation reports: trout have been very good on a variety of baits. Crappie have been fair on jigs fished slow near brush. All other species slow.
LAKE OF THE OZARKS: 38 degrees, stained, 4.5 feet 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: 36 degrees, dingy, low Outlook: Longview Marina reports: crappie fishing started to pick up recently near the marina. Jigs have been most productive 25 feet down. Fishing hours are 8am-12:30pm 7 days a week. Join Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group for daily updates.
NORFORK: 47 degrees, murky, 9 feet high Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: stripers and hybrids are moving from creek to creek with no real set pattern. They have been found near Blue Lady Resort in 30-60 feet of water. Bass are on steep banks. Crappie are holding in brush piles. You can find white bass suspended in 60-70 feet of water on main lake flats. The ¼ oz Bink’s spoon has been the best bait recently.
POMME DE TERRE: 42 degrees, stained, 2 feet high (500 CFS) Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: things are slow overall. Crappie can be found over brush piles on jigs and minnows on the lake, but haven’t been found much around the docks. Bass are being found most frequently on A-rigs. Walleye should start picking up soon. Shad have been numerous in the backs of coves.
SMITHVILLE: 33 degrees, clear, almost 2 feet low (8 CFS) Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: ice present on most of lake. Ice fishing is not safe. Crappie are still slow to fair but having to find them around the docks.
STOCKTON: 40 degrees, clear, 4.7 feet high (40 CFS) Outlook: Tandem Fly Outfitters reports: Bass are hitting well on a jerk bait, jig, and A-rig. Crappie are suspended 15-35 feet down in water as deep as 65-70 feet 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: 45 degrees, clear main lake (clear to stained rivers), 1 foot high Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: For bass, A- rigs have been very effective around standing timber and around larger boat docks suspended 10 feet down over 25-35 feet. Jerkbaits have turned on especially on windy, cloudy days. Most fish are on steep banks with isolated cover. Finesse jigs have been effective working around boat docks on steeper banks 10-15 feet deep. Crappie have started to show up in standing timber 8-15 feet deep on bluffs and channel swings. Crappie jigs and tubes are your best bet.
TANEYCOMO: 47 degrees, clear, 6,800 CFS Outlook: Lilleys’ Landing reports: midge hatches should increase with slower generation. Minnows and nightcrawlers have been working very well lately on the bottom from Fall Creek on down. PowerEggs will catch you rainbows as well. Pink Powerworms 6-8 feet under a float have been productive. If you’re drifting baits on the bottom, you’ll need to use smaller 1/8th-ounce weights. Marabou jigs of various colors have been working, but you’ll need to use 1/16th or 1/32nd-ounce. Use 2-pound line on your spinning reels with the slower generation so you can throw smaller baits more effectively. Anglers are also dragging small 2.5-3 inch, minnow imitation crankbaits along the bottom using a Carolina rig. Drifting with #14 or #16 scuds in gray or olive, and San Juan worms in cerise, pink, brown, and red color is still a hot technique both in and down from the Trophy Area. Egg flys have also been producing some nice trout.
TRUMAN: 37 degrees, stained, 2.3 feet high (12,000 CFS) Outlook: Richard Bowling Guide Service reports: Crappie bite is on. Fish the creeks in 10 feet of water and more. Spider rigging is working well with double minnow rigs. One pole jig fishing or minnow fishing is working as well. Quality and quantity are being caught. Catfish are being caught on main lake flats in the upper end in 6-10 feet of water using fresh cut bait 2 feet off the bottom.
Kansas
CLINTON: 40 degrees, dingy, 0.4 feet high (50 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Good reports of crappie in 10-30 feet over channel breaks and brush using chartreuse jigs. Minnows will work too. Fish are tightly bunched up on brush for the most part. 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 are not in.
COFFEY COUNTY: mid 30s/low 40s, clear, about normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: everything has been slow overall. Fishing near the hot water outlet should be most productive until spring, especially for white bass and wipers. Use shad imitation lures and swimbaits. Both channel and blue catfish have been okay fishing along wind blown banks with cut bait. Look for creek channel swings and humps. Entrance gate phone number is 620-364-2475. Be sure to call ahead for lake conditions.
EL DORADO: 34 degrees, stained, 1.5 feet high 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 fair on brush piles using minnows and jigs, but far from great fishing right now.
GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): 34 degrees, stained, 1.3 feet low Outlook: KDWPT reports: Crappie are biting very well in deeper brush piles near Campground 3, Swim Beach Point, Walnut Creek, and the two piles west of the causeway. White bass continue to be good on the lower end of the reservoir near the dam. Trout fishing is good down at the park pond using a variety of baits. Smallmouth bass have been good around the state park area. White bass are good around the dam and state park area.
HILLSDALE: 38 degrees, stained, 1.5 feet low (160 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: 70% frozen. Lake is in winter drawn down. Crappie are fair in brush piles or near the heated marina dock using minnows and jigs about 20 feet down on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair off wind blown points. Jigs and shad imitation lures are the best baits right now. All other species slow.
LA CYGNE: upper 30s, clear, normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: fishing is slow overall. 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. You’ll have to work for your bites with largemouth, but big fish have been caught recently. Crappie are holding tight to brush in various depths over 10 feet. Try for them with jigs or minnows. For information on the Linn County Marina boat ramps, call 913-757-6633.
MELVERN: 36 degrees, stained, 0.8 feet low (20 CFS) Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: lake is 5% ice covered. Crappie are fair to good over established brush piles and along the docks on minnows and small ice jigs. Smallmouth are fair lakewide on minnows and shallow crankbaits. White bass are fair on shallow crankbaits and minnows.
MILFORD: 35 degrees, stained, 3 feet low (800 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: 35% ice coverage. Catfish are fair. Channels can be caught on cut bait, worms, and stink bait. Blues are typically caught on fresh cut bait. Target wind blown flats and river channel ledges for catfish. Crappie are fair 10-20 feet deep suspended near points, flooded brush, and ledges on jigs and minnows. White bass/wipers are fair along windy banks and points using jigs on reservoir or target river on north end of the reservoir.
PERRY: 36 degrees, clear, 2 feet low Outlook: Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle reports: the lake ramps are all open except Slough Creek as of Feb 18. There is quite a bit of ice in the coves. The agitators are on in the marinas. Folks caught their limits all around the lake this past week. Even bank fishermen fishing around Slough Creek Bridge with slip bobbers caught limits. Fishing around the docks continues to produce. White bass have been hitting around Rock Creek Bridge. Some 3-pounders have been reported.
POMONA: 34 degrees, stained, 1.2 feet low (15 CFS Tues) Outlook: KDWPT reports: watch out for ice! 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, 2.2 feet high Outlook: Kansas Department of Wildlife reports: 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 fifth stocking of rainbow trout for Willow Lake was completed on February 18th. So far this trout season, Willow Lake has been stocked with 6,650 trout. 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.