Fishing report: Coronavirus doesn’t deter anglers from opening day of snagging season
Here is the fishing report for lakes and reservoirs in the Kansas City area and regionally around Kansas and Missouri for March 18, 2020.
Missouri
BLUE SPRINGS: mid to upper 40s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook Group reports: marina is closed until further notice due to COVID19 precautions. Crappie around standing timber is your best bet. Folks are still getting into them using jigs or minnows. No reports of wipers but should start moving in on the dam as the water warms. Wait until the wind is blowing in on the dam and you may have some luck.
BULL SHOALS: 49 degrees, dingy to clear, 2.5 feet high and rising 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. Jerkbaits, jigs on points 10-25 feet down, swimbaits, and A-rigs are producing. Around shad, cranking is good if there’s wind. Target channel swing transitions towards spawning pockets. A small group of fish are starting to move up. No wind or sun, go deep on points close to or on the bottom using Ned, shakey head or damiki rigs. You need to stay on steeper banks with big rock or ledge transition banks. Whites are moving up and walleyes getting caught towards dusk on jerkbaits. 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 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 (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 to upper 40s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group reports: marina is closed until further notice due to COVID19 precautions. Look for crappie around the marina and docks using jigs or minnows. Jacomo bass tourney produced slow results again, but some quality fish were caught. A-Rigs and jerk baits for bass should produce a few. Walleye will start to move in towards the end of March.
JAMES A. REED: mid to upper 40s, clear, high Outlook: Missouri Dept. of Conservation reports: trout have been good on a variety of baits. Crappie have been found on jigs and minnows fished slow near brush. Largemouth bass are beginning to pick up on jerk baits and other reaction baits worked slowly. All other species slow.
LAKE OF THE OZARKS: 45 degrees, slightly stained, 4 feet low Outlook: Gier’s Bass Pro reports: fish are still on the winter pattern mostly. Look for crappie 15 feet deep over brush. One good report near the dam said crappie were found on secondary points using a jig below a float in 2-6 feet of water. Quick limits that way in less than an hour. Jerkbait bite worked extremely slow for bass should produce a few.
LONGVIEW: 48 degrees, stained, normal Outlook: Longview Marina reports: Marina is closed until further notice due to COVID19 precautions. No dock fishing is available. The gates are closed until further notice but the lake is open. No major fishing reports this past week. Walleye are expected to move up to the dam towards the end of March. Join Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group for daily updates.
NORFORK: 53 degrees, stained, 4 feet high Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: no changes. Fish are beginning to move more shallow. Crappie still holding in brush piles. White bass starting to be on the move. As the water temp rises, the fishing will improve dramatically.
POMME DE TERRE: 49 degrees, clear, 3.5 feet high (2500 CFS) Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: Crappie can be found over brush piles on jigs and minnows on the lake, and some are beginning to be found shallow. A couple muskies caught on accident in the last week. Bass are hitting jerk baits and crankbaits. Winning bass tournament weight was about 25 pounds in the last week. Crankbaits were the ticket apparently. Walleye should start picking up soon.
SMITHVILLE: 44 degrees, clear, 1.5 feet low (750 CFS) Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: Crappie are biting well on the docks and around the bridge pillars. Minnows or jigs are both catching fish. The brush piles are no good while they are releasing water. Walleye should start showing up on the face of the dam by around the 22nd. Usually the last week of March to first week of April. If you are a bank fisherman, use a floating rogue or rapala and the fish will be right on the bank. Most productive after dark, sunset to sunrise. The lures are much better than live bait as the fish are not really eating. Catfish are biting well on cut bait like shad. Liver, shrimp, worms and shad are the better baits in the cold water. Fish further up in the arms of the lake in shallower water. The dip and dough baits are not as productive this time of year.
STOCKTON: 44 degrees, clear, 5.3 feet high (40 CFS) Outlook: Tandem Fly Outfitters reports: Big shad kill off near the dam. Bass had been hitting well on a jerk bait, jig, and A-rig prior to that. Crappie are still 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, but hasn’t quite taken off. Still having to really work for them. Jerk bait bite should take off any day. They have also been biting on ¼ oz Bink’s spoon or Rapala Jig-N-Rap.
TABLE ROCK: 50 degrees, clear main lake (clear to muddy in rivers), 3.5 feet high Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: For bass, small swimbaits on gravel points 8-15 feet deep, cast the bait and allow it to sink to around 5 feet deep and reel in slow. Jerkbaits on secondary points near spawning pockets 8-15 feet deep is also productive. Finesse jigs, tubes, and shaky head on secondary points 10-15 feet deep worked slowly along the bottom will work. Crappie are biting on jigs, tubes, and minnows around standing timber 6-12 feet down. Feeder creeks in the river arms have been best. White Bass are hitting road runners, white grubs and rooster tails on windy gravel flats 6-10 feet deep in the upper reaches of the rivers and major creeks.
TANEYCOMO: 47 degrees, clear, 15,000 CFS Outlook: Lilleys’ Landing reports: some shad are coming through the dam. A 1/8th oz white jig in the trophy area will work, but you need to keep near the bottom. Try just letting it drift along the bottom and you feel a thump set the hook. It might just be the bottom, but it could be a fish. Drifting a scud and egg fly from Andy’s House down to Fall Creek was excellent Monday afternoon with no problem with moss on the flies. The creeks have been on fire lately, with the exception of the periods after these rains. Roark Creek with a Berkley Pink Worm under a float 5-6 feet deep has been very good. Nightcrawlers and minnows along the bottom are also producing.
TRUMAN: 47 degrees, stained, 3.6 feet high (19,281 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: 46 degrees, dingy, 1.5 feet high (7 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. All other species slow or no reports. 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 some of the docks may not be in. The dock is in on the north Bloomington Ramp.
COFFEY COUNTY: 57 degrees north end, hot water outlet 71, upper 40s everywhere else, clear, low Outlook: KDWPT reports: Fishing near the hot water outlet should be most productive until spring, especially for white bass and wipers. Use shad imitation lures and swimbaits. Whites have been the most productive in the last week. Both channel and blue catfish have been okay fishing along wind blown banks or water inflows with cut bait. Some largemouth have been caught near the hot water outlet on jerkbaits. Entrance gate phone number is 620-364-2475. Be sure to call ahead for lake conditions.
EL DORADO: mid 40s, murky, 2.4 feet high (13 CFS) Outlook: KS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism: Crappie are slow to fair on brush piles using minnows and jigs, but far from great fishing right now. No action on prespawn/spawn walleye, but should be expected to pick up in next couple of weeks. Some nice blue catfish were being caught before the big inflows which likely moved them off the shallow, windblown points and shorelines they were on and pulled them towards the creeks. All other species slow or no reports.
GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): low 40s, clear, 0.5 feet low Outlook: KDWPT reports: Anglers have been catching fair numbers of crappie on the main lake brush piles including Swim Beach, Campground 3, and Walnut Creek. There have also been some fish caught on the river channel drops in 30-35 feet of water. Walleye are fair to good around Walnut Creek, along the dam, and along the river channel in the middle portion of the reservoir. They can usually be found in 5-10 feet of water in the evening and early morning and head to deeper water throughout the day. Should be moving up for the spawn soon. White bass can be caught on the west end of the reservoir near the Cawker City causeway and up the river channels using slab spoons, crankbaits, and Kastmasters. There are also some fish to be caught along the dam and in the Walnut Creek area. Channel catfish are good and anglers have had best success drifting cut shad, shad gizzards, shrimp, and stink bait. Best areas to try include near the mouth of Oak Creek, off the Cawker City dike and golf course, and in Mill Creek. Black bass have been slow.
HILLSDALE: 40 degrees, stained, 0.6 feet low (8 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Crappie are fair in brush piles or near the heated marina dock using minnows and jigs anywhere from 10-25 feet down. White bass are fair off wind blown points. Jigs and shad imitation lures are the best baits right now. Some walleye have been caught while crappie fishing. Look for them to move up to the dam soon. All other species slow.
LA CYGNE: mid 40s, clear, a little high Outlook: KDWPT reports: The crappie are moving into staging areas for spawning. Some have been caught off the wall gates where water is released at the dam. Some caught in marina coves and hot water outlet. There are good numbers of fish 10-12 inches long. Best lures to use are jigs/minnows near structure. Largemouth are slow to fair fishing the deep side of the riprap areas and weed beds. Use cranks, jerkbaits, or spinner baits like shad imitations. White bass are fair using shad imitations or silver spoons in the area of the hot water outlet. Most have been in the 1-2 pound range.
MELVERN: 44 degrees, stained, 1.5 feet low (20 CFS) Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: Crappie are fair 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. All other species slow or no reports.
MILFORD: 44 degrees, stained, 2.2 feet low (25 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Catfish are fair overall. Channel catfish can be caught on cut bait, worms, and stink bait. Blue catfish 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. Walleye are fair near rocky or wind-swept mud banks with jigs or jerkbaits. Use a slow retrieve. White bass/wipers are fair along windy banks and points using jigs on the reservoir or target the river on north end of the reservoir.
PERRY: 46 degrees, clear, 1 foot high (100 CFS) Outlook: Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle reports: Folks caught their limits of crappie all around the lake this past week, but fish are starting to scatter a bit. 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. Walleye and saugeye are being caught up at the dam recently.
POMONA: 46 degrees, stained, 0.3 feet high (15 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: catfish are slow. Good baits are worms, dip baits, sunfish entrails, cutshad, stink/prepared baits. Fish feeders are still off. The outlet can be very good when releasing large amounts of water. Walleye are slow but moving into staging areas for spawning. Try off the dam or along deeper steep banks on crank baits or jigs tipped with nightcrawlers. White bass/wipers are slow. Good baits are minnows/live baits, cut bait, sometimes wipers hit liver and shad imitation lures. Crappie are excellent with many over 10-inches being reported, especially around the rock quarry. Best baits are dark jigs and minnows. Recent sampling indicates that there are good numbers of larger crappie around the 11 inch or bigger range.
TUTTLE CREEK: 45 degrees, clear, 0.3 feet low (200 CFS) Outlook: Kansas Department of Wildlife reports: Crappie are excellent over standing brush piles with jigs and minnows 15-25 feet deep. Catfish fair on fresh cut bait on flats and channel swings. Saugeye are best in the River Pond or at Rocky Ford. Willow Lake has been stocked with 7,730 trout. Anglers have been doing well with traditional trout baits or power baits.
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.