Fishing report: Cold front may have delayed crappie spawn, but it’s close at hand now
Here is the fishing report for lakes and reservoirs in the Kansas City area and regionally around Kansas and Missouri for April 15, 2020.
Missouri
ANNOUNCEMENT: The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Commission announced they are temporarily waiving permit requirements for sport fishing and daily trout tags for Missouri residents and nonresidents whose fishing privileges are not otherwise suspended. The waiver of needing a permit or trout tag to fish will run through April 15. MDC will reassess the situation at that point. All season dates, methods, and limits will continue to apply and be enforced.
BLUE SPRINGS: mid 50s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook Group reports: marina is closed until further notice due to COVID19 precautions. Look for wipers near the blowhole if water is coming in from Jacomo. Some have been reported on the main lake near the dam. Crappie around standing timber is your best bet. Folks are still getting into them using jigs or minnows. They will be moving up shallow in about 2 weeks and may have been delayed by the cold. Some giants over 15-inches have been caught in the last week. 15.22 pounds won this past week’s buddy bass tournament on the lake.
BULL SHOALS: 62 degrees, clear, 22 feet high and rising Outlook: Del Colvin Guide Service reports: limited access to ramps and parking, call first. Fish are in all phases of the spawn. Look for flat pockets halfway back to the backs of coves. Swimbait or jerkbait is working on shad balls. Close to spawning areas, the spinnerbait or chatterbait on windy banks with stain will work. Senko, jig, beaver, weightless worm, topwater frogs, spooks, and lots of other baits are working if you get around the fish. Beat the bank. Fish the conditions. High water is making great for the spawn. Little tougher for the fishermen. Gravel banks and boat ramp roads are good places to drag baits. Google earth maps or a good memory is important. Below the dam: John Berry of Berry Bros. Guide Service reports: The hot spot has been the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam. 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 deep water worm with a weighted egg suspended below it).
JACOMO: mid 50s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group reports: marina is closed until further notice due to COVID19 precautions. Look for crappie near brush in 5-10 feet of water or along the public docks using jigs or minnows. They should be hitting the banks as soon as we get the next warm up. White bass should be up at the dam any day now. Look for them surfacing.
JAMES A. REED: 50 degrees, stained, normal Outlook: Missouri Dept. of Conservation reports: crappie are fair using very small jigs or minnows near brush. Folks have been reporting using a 1/32nd or smaller jig fished starting shallow and moving deeper to find them. Largemouth bass have been hit or miss on a variety of baits, but seeing consistent reports. All other species slow. Due to public safety concerns from the coronavirus, MDC has suspended the channel catfish stockings for the Kansas City area park lakes until further notice. Also, the rental boats will not be available at the James A. Reed Area until further notice.
LAKE OF THE OZARKS: mid to upper 50s, stained, 5 feet low Outlook: Gier’s Bass Pro reports: fishing is still slow overall. Look for crappie 15 feet deep over brush. They will be moving in on the banks soon, especially if we get a good warm up.. Jerkbaits, crankbaits, and tubes on rocky banks should produce some bass.
LONGVIEW: low to mid 50s, stained, normal Outlook: Longview Marina reports: Marina is closed until May 15th due to COVID19 precautions. No dock fishing is available. The gates are closed until further notice but the lake is open. Crappie are on fire and being caught all over the lake on jigs in the coves and down in the trees on the Blue River side. Many anglers have reported catching them from the banks. White bass are making their runs up tributaries but may have pushed back out towards the main lake a bit with the cooldown. Some largemouth were caught in the timber along rocky banks in the last week. Join Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group for daily updates.
NORFORK: 63 degrees, muddy, 17 feet high Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: Stripers are hitting topwater now. Bass are trying to spawn. White bass are spawning back in the creeks as are walleye.
POMME DE TERRE: mid 50s, clear, 0.5 feet high (259 CFS) Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: Some crappie are being found shallow but fishing activity has been very slow recently. Bass are slow but hitting a variety of baits. All other species slow or no reports.
SMITHVILLE: 56 degrees, clear, 2 feet low (250 CFS) Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: The crappie are still out deeper but will start moving in very soon when the temperature warms. Sailboat cove or brush piles could be areas to check. End of April is probably the time we will see them move in. A few bass are being reported from rocky areas on suspending rogues. The cats are biting well in the upper parts of the lake on cut bait. Try 10 feet or less of water. White bass are picking up in the river areas near Plattsburg.
STOCKTON: low to mid 50s, clear, 5.6 feet high (40 CFS) Outlook: Tandem Fly Outfitters reports: Bass are hitting a jerk bait, jig, and A-rig prior to that. Crappie are moving into staging areas and will get shallow on warmer days. Spawn should start as soon as we get a big warm up. Try an 1/8th oz jig head with a blue ice colored jig. Also, try white, silver, or clown colored ¼ oz Bink’s spoons. Walleye should be moving to nearby flats over the next few weeks.
TABLE ROCK: 58 degrees, clear main lake (clear to stained in rivers), 2.5 feet high Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: Colder temperatures have moved the majority of bass back out from spawning pockets in the last couple of days. Secondary points fished with swimbaits, grubs and small jigs have been effective. With warmer weather coming this weekend the fish will move back into the pockets and join those that are already on spawning beds, look for sight fishing to be a dominant pattern this weekend and through next week. Crappie are just like the bass. The cold wave slowed the spawn. Look for them to be back in tree tops and deeper brush piles staging to move back up. White jigs, small tubes and live minnow have all been effective. The white bass are all but done spawning, they have moved to larger flats in the river arms and can be caught with small crankbaits, swimbaits and grubs. Look for schools of whites chasing shad on the flats less than 10’ deep.
TANEYCOMO: 47 degrees, clear, 15,000 CFS Outlook: Lilleys’ Landing reports: trout are still being stocked in the lake, but very anglers are out. Quality fish are being caught everyday, both really nice browns and rainbows. White and sculpin/peach jigs are working. Dragging small floating minnow baits behind the boat from the dam to Branson Landing is producing big browns. Monkey Island has produced numerous big browns recently. The jerkbait bite has produced more so in the middle of the lake than the banks recently. Live bait and scuds should produce some fish as well.
TRUMAN: mid 50s, stained, 5.5 feet high (20,000 CFS) Outlook: Richard Bowling Guide Service reports: Crappie are being caught in the creeks in 10 feet of water and more. Spider rigging, 2 pole trolling and dipping are all working. Minnows are the bait of choice but can be caught on jigs. Best approach is to go to the back of the creek and fish your way out. Bite is fair all day long. Spawn is still about a week away. Cats are being caught in 6 to 8 feet of water on fresh cut shad. Both rod and reel and jugs are working. Fish the flats.
Kansas
CLINTON: low to mid 50s, dingy, 4.3 feet high (21 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: good reports of crappie in 10-20 feet over channel breaks and brush using chartreuse jigs. Minnows will work too. Channel cats are good near recent inflows on nightcrawlers. No major reports of wipers in the last week but can be found near windy points. The road over the dam has been closed until further notice by the Corps. and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office due to unsafe social distancing and parking conditions. 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 at the north Bloomington Ramp.
COFFEY COUNTY: 57 degrees north end, hot water outlet 71, upper 40s everywhere else, clear, low Outlook: KDWPT reports: lake is closed until April 15th. Entrance gate phone number is 620-364-2475, call for lake conditions.
EL DORADO: low to mid 50s, murky, 1.1 feet high (260 CFS) Outlook: KS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism: Wipers/white bass are fair near breaks or humps early and moving towards shallow points and shorelines as the water warms up during the day. Jig and plastic or crankbaits work well. There are a lot of 4-inch shad in the lake that most game fish are feeding on so match the size of your baits to that. Crappie have scattered from winter time patterns and are spotty right now. Walleye spawn is still going on. Lots of males on the spawning grounds throughout the day. Females coming in after dark. Jerk baits are great choices this time of the year, but walleye can also be caught on jigs and live bait. Spawn will wrap up in the next week or so.
GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): low to mid 50s, clear, 1.5 feet high Outlook: KDWPT reports: All outflows from Glen Elder have been shut down for several weeks for maintenance. The outlet has been pumped nearly dry and there will be no fishing opportunities below the dam until releases resume. Crappie being caught around the boat docks near the marina, on the Campground 3 brush pile, and on the swim beach brush pile in 10-20 feet of water over the next couple of weeks until they move in shallow to spawn. Walleye are good and anglers have been having success along the dam while walk trolling at night using a variety of crankbaits, swim baits, and jigs. The spawn is about done and some fish have moved toward the Cawker City causeway and off Gibbs Point. Smallmouth bass fishing should pick up now. They can be found along the dam, the south bluffs, and along the state park shoreline. Anglers typically catch them using a variety of crankbaits, soft plastics, and Ned Rigs. Largemouth bass can also be caught in most of the main lake coves as well as in the state park using spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and Senkos. Anglers have been catching fair to good numbers of channel catfish near the mouth of Oak Creek and Carr Creek, off the Cawker City dike and golf course, and in Mill Creek. The white bass spawn is just about to get started and anglers should start to find a few up the South Fork and North Fork rivers especially near the log jam on the North Fork River. These fish will also start to congregate along rocky banks such as the Cawker City causeway, Granite Creek, and the dam. Slab spoons, white and chartreuse twistertails, roadrunners, and Rattletraps are all good bets to catch some white bass now.
HILLSDALE: 46 degrees, stained, 1.7 feet high (160 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: walleye should begin feeding on adjacent shallow flats with spawn now over. Crappie fishing has been productive off the marina docks and as water temperatures warm the crappie should be moving shallow. Quality fish are being caught on jigs or minnows. White bass are fair on wind blown points. Jigs and shad imitation lures are the best baits right now.
LA CYGNE: low to mid 50s, clear, about normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: some anglers targeting large blue cats now at drop offs close to the creek channel are finding success. Fish feeders are off still. The crappie are moving into staging areas for spawning. Some have been caught off the wall gates where water is released at the dam. Quality fish are being reported on 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: 53 degrees, stained, 0.9 feet high (500 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. Channel catfish are fair with a few caught near cleaning stations and in the outlet area on nightcrawlers. Walleye are poor but a few have been reported caught along the dam face trolling with nightcrawlers. All other species slow or no reports.
MILFORD: 54 degrees, stained, 0.7 feet high (25 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Catfish are fair overall. Channel catfish are fair on cut bait, worms, and stink bait. Look for freshwater inflows. 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 and starting to transition. Walleye are fair near rocky or wind-swept mud banks with jigs or jerkbaits as they move up to spawn. Use a slow retrieve with significant pauses while throwing a jerkbait. White bass/wipers are fair along windy banks and points using jigs on the reservoir and should start moving up the river on north end of the reservoir.
PERRY: mid 50s, stained, 5 feet high (90 CFS) Outlook: Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle reports: Folks are catching their limits of crappie and finding lots of eggs. Spawn is close. They are moving into the banks on warm days. Bank fishermen fishing around Slough Creek Bridge are getting into them. Fishing around the docks continues to produce. White bass have been hitting around Rock Creek Bridge and are making their run up the Delaware. Some 3-pounders have been reported.
POMONA: 60 degrees, stained, 3 feet high (500 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: walleye are done for the most part with temps reaching 60. Some stragglers may still be caught using jerkbaits, crank baits or jigs tipped with nightcrawlers. White bass/wipers are slow. Whites will start to make their run up tributaries soon. Good baits are minnows/live baits, cut bait, sometimes wipers hit liver and shad imitation lures. Crappie are moving in to spawn. Work the shallow areas. Some nice fish caught especially around the rock quarry on dark jigs and/or minnows.
TUTTLE CREEK: 55 degrees, clear, 6.1 feet high (200 CFS) Outlook: Kansas Department of Wildlife reports: Crappie are excellent near brush piles with jigs and minnows 10-14 feet deep and moving shallower. Catfish are fair on fresh cut bait on flats and channel swings. Look for fresh inflows of water. Saugeye are best in the River Pond or at Rocky Ford.
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.