Outdoors report: Summer fishing patterns taking shape across Missouri, Kansas lakes
Here is the fishing report for lakes and reservoirs in the Kansas City area and regionally around Kansas and Missouri for June 17, 2020.
Missouri
BLUE SPRINGS: upper 70s/low 80s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook Group reports: White bass can be found lakewide. Trolling crankbaits for crappie should be a good way to find them on the main lake along channel cuts and drop offs. Bandit 200s and 300s are a good trolling option. Largemouth have been fair in the last week. Three fish weighing 8.94 pounds took first place in the recent tournament.
BULL SHOALS: 79 degrees, dingy to clear, 34 feet and slowly falling Outlook: Del Colvin Guide Service reports: Corp. limited access to ramps and parking, call first especially on weekends. The summer patterns are in effect. Bite has slowed down so better hope for wind and clouds! Fish the conditions. Smallies/Kentuckys are out on main and secondary points, bluffs, and bluff ends biting well on a swimbait or jerkbait near shad balls. On cloudy days with wind, the spinnerbait or chatterbait on old channel banks and bushes with stain will work. Big worm in sunken trees or 1/2 oz Jig in green pumpkin orange or GP blue in 18-28 feet is good. Jewel Special Ops jig or beaver flipping bushes in less than 10 feet where you can reach the shore. Small poppers around fish busting the surface will work. Overall topwater has been slower than normal. For smallmouth, gravel banks, boat ramps, and old roads are good places to drag baits like the ned rig, hula grubs tubes, lil MCMinnow or Carolina rigs 18-32 feet down. Drop shot summer patterns are also starting near bluffs, main lake points, and hump islands 24-36 feet down. Check Flooded saddles and neck down current areas holding bait. Check out Del Colvin’s online fishing report on YouTube. Below the dam: John Berry of Berry Bros. Guide Service reports: The White has fished well. The hot spot has been the Catch and Release Section at 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 San Juan worm with a size fourteen peach egg suspended below it).
JACOMO: upper 70s/low 80s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group reports: Look for crappie near brush in 10-15 feet of water or along the public docks using jigs or minnows. Trolling crankbaits should be a good way to find all species of fish. Bass are still in spawn/ post spawn. Check the weedlines along the coves and points. Topwater early and late should produce. Bluegills have been very good lately on small jigs tipped with pieces of nightcrawlers or crickets.
JAMES A. REED: 82 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Missouri Dept. of Conservation reports: channel catfish are fair on worms. All other species have been hard to come by lately. The rental boats are now available at the Reed Area. The boats are free of charge. Boaters are responsible for providing equipment needed to comply with Missouri State boating laws.
LAKE OF THE OZARKS: low 80s, stained, 1.2 feet low Outlook: bassingbob.com reports: bass have been close to the bluff ledge, point drops, and off shore structure close to the ledge drop offs, mostly rock debris fields and or a brush pile. 10-20 feet of water has been a productive depth. Deep diving crankbaits have been the most productive. Crappie have been very good trolling Bandit crankbaits in 15-20 feet of water on main lake bluff ends to secondary points. Blue and channel cats are very good on main lake ledge points and deeper secondaries.
LONGVIEW: upper 70s/low 80s, stained, normal Outlook: Longview Marina reports: Crappie are still good all over the lake. Check the timber near mouths of coves in 8-15 feet of water and shallower. Largemouth have still been challenging but some are being found on rocky banks. Catfish are starting to pick up a lot more shallow. Trolling crankbaits in shallow water is picking up many species of fish including walleye. Fishing at marina is still closed but they do have minnows, worms, and chicken liver in stock. Dock fishing available 9-6 Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Fri. Normal hours are now 8am-8pm. Join Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group for daily updates.
NORFORK: 88 degrees, clear, 22 feet high Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: Stripers are 60 feet down and hitting Bink’s Spoons. Bass are biting really well on topwater baits like spooks and poppers. Walleye have been fair to good hitting ¼ oz Bink’s Spoons.
POMME DE TERRE: 85 degrees, clear to stained, 4 feet high(1500 CFS) Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows over brush piles. Bass bite has been good and moving out from shore now. All other species slow.
SMITHVILLE: 80 degrees, clear, 0.3 feet low (8 CFS) Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: The crappie are in summer patterns. Main lake brush piles and deeper channels in the river arms of the lake, maybe 6-10 feet depending on the area of the lake you are fishing. The minnow bite will just get better as the water warms more. The bass seem to be in all stages of the spawn from already done to spawning now. Look for patches of grass on the main lake or shallow stumps and lay downs in the wooded coves. Catfish are moving into the shallows and feeding up getting ready to spawn. Use nightcrawlers, cut baits, shrimp and dough baits. For bigger fish and trot lines and limb lines, use goldfish and shad. Lots of white bass being caught while guys are trolling for walleye on the main lake points or folks fishing from the bank around the bridges. White rooster tails or any type of roadrunner with a white twister tail will catch them. Quite a few walleye being caught on main lake points using a shad rap or flicker shad. Less than 10 feet of water is best. Long flat shallow points are best. If you are more patient you can drag a crawler harness and catch fish also. Lots of small ones being caught.
STOCKTON: 83 degrees, clear, 4.8 feet high (5631 CFS) Outlook: Tandem Fly Outfitters reports: fish have been scattered, but walleye are still biting well on main lake points fishing a 1/8th Jakked shooter head tipped with a nightcrawler. Start deeper in 25 feet or so work shallower until you find them. Walleye, crappie, and white bass are being caught trolling #7 flicker shad or Bandit 300s. Might be some stragglers on the crappie spawn. Bass are anywhere from spawn to post spawn and are being caught on spinner baits, jigs, and Carolina rigging a brush hog in the mouths of spawning pockets.
TABLE ROCK: 82 degrees, clear main lake (clear to stained in rivers), 12.8 feet high and falling Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: For bass, the top water bite has slowed but a few fish can still be caught early and late. Look for fish to be on main lake and secondary points. Small jigs, shaky heads and Ned rigs are effective on gravel points close to the old bank line. A few fish can be caught in the flooded bushes and timber by flipping a tube or jig. Crappie are getting harder to find, trees topping out around 15’ are holding a few. White jigs, small tubes and live minnows are the best bet. The white bass are scattered and have moved out on gravel points and in main lake pockets, they can be caught on top water early and on spoons around 35’ deep later in the day.
TANEYCOMO: 49.5 degrees, clear, slower generation expected Outlook: Lilleys’ Landing reports: Below Fall Creek, nightcrawlers and minnows will work best on bigger trout while stockers will take Powerbait and flashy lures like spoons and rooster tails. The pink Powerworm on a small jig head fished under a float 4 to 6 feet deep will work well too. In the trophy area, scuds, midges and San Juan Worms will work under a float while brown, black and white small streamers will catch fish early and late in the day. Also jerk baits like the Megabass 100+1 in shad colors will lure the big trout early and late in the day. Throwing marabou jigs using 2 or 4-pound line anywhere on the lake in earth colors like sculpin, olive, brown and black should be good.
TRUMAN: mid to upper 80s, clear, 5.6 feet high (29652 CFS) Outlook: Richard Bowling Guide Service reports: Crappie are scattered due to the rising water. Fish the flats 8 feet down in 10 feet and more. They will stay scattered until the current stops. White bass are being caught on the humps, road beds, and saddles with current. Jigging spoons and minnows are working. Blue cats are being caught on jugs in 15 feet of water and more setting them 10 feet deep with fresh cut shad. Fish along the main lake channels. Black bass are being caught on crankbaits, spinner baits and buzzbaits in 1-6 feet of water. Fish the flat pockets on the main lake.
Kansas
CLINTON: 80 degrees, stained, 2.6 feet high (363 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: All boat ramps open in State Park. Bloomington ramps are open, except Bloomington West. Crappie are hitting over brush piles mostly on jigs. Channel cats are good on shad and cut bait. Walleye are on the flats now and can be targeted with jig and a nightcrawler or trolling with crankbaits. White bass are good. Casting crankbaits on the dam is working some days. Some action trolling with crankbaits. Wipers have been mixed in.
COFFEY COUNTY: upper 70s, clear, normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: Restricted lake hours are from 7am-4pm. All boats are to be off the water by 4pm. All people and boats are to be off of lake property by 5pm. Fishermen should remain in vehicles at the gate during registration. Largemouth are fair on topwater near grassy and woody structure. Walleye are fair trolling crankbaits or spinner rigs with live nightcrawlers or minnows over points and humps. Catfish are biting very well on wind blown banks or creek channel swings and humps and should be up shallow right now as well. Crappie are moving deeper now. Smallmouth are fair on crankbaits, swimbaits, and finesse plastics around rocky habitat. Fish should be up shallow, but don’t be afraid to go offshore and fish deeper around humps and dropoffs, using drop shot rigs. Topwater bite has been good lately. Whites/wipers are fair to good on shad imitation lures like small spinners, crankbaits or bucktail jigs. Look for schools of shad or focus on wind blown flats or rocky points. Vertical jigging slab spoons is also a good technique. Entrance gate phone number is 620-364-2475, call for lake conditions.
EL DORADO: mid 70s, stained, 0.17 feet high 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. Still some crappie hanging in the shallow near brushy cover. Crappie also being caught on standing timber 12-15 feet deep. Jigs or minnows working well. Some blue catfish being caught on shallow windy points or shorelines with an incoming wind in the upper half of the reservoir. Fresh cut bait has been best. The blue cat die off in April is not expected to make any major impacts to the population. Walleye have been caught on the flats on jig and crawler combos 4-12 feet deep. Trolling crankbaits is also producing fish along wind blown shorelines, points, and old roads.
GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): 78 degrees, clear, 0.3 feet high (250 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: crappie spawn is wrapped up and they’re moving to deeper water. Look for them around timber and other structure like the Georgia Cubes. You may find some in the river channel 20-25 feet down. Anglers should still be able to find walleye hanging out in the deeper river channel areas on the east half of the reservoir as well as toward the springs and Wally World. Other fish may be starting to move toward the flats south of the Cawker City dike or could even be found along the Cawker City causeway. Smallmouth bass fishing has been very good recently with anglers catching high numbers of spawning fish. They can be found along the dam, Granite Creek, the south bluffs, and along the state park shoreline using a variety of crankbaits, soft plastics, and Ned Rigs. The channel catfish spawn is here and there are plenty of reports of anglers catching fish along the rocky shorelines along the Cawker City causeway, Granite Creek, and the state park points. Anglers continue to catch good numbers of large white bass across the reservoir although the spawning activity has slowed down a bit from what it was the last 5-6 weeks.
HILLSDALE: low 70s, stained, 1.5 feet high (5 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: some walleye are being caught on shallow flats and mud banks. Drifting live bait, jigging, trolling crankbaits, casting baits while targeting structure can all be effective methods right now. Most crappie have moved off shore now, but some can still be found in shallow brush on jigs or minnows. White bass are fair on wind blown points. Largemouth are fair near shallow water structure on plastics. Channel cats being caught lakewide. Common carp are spawning in abundance and should make for good bowfishing opportunities in the Big Bull Arm.
KILL CREEK PARK: 84 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Johnson County Parks and Rec reports: trout are fair on powerbait. Crappie and bluegill have been hitting very well on nightcrawlers. Bass have been good on topwater and plastics. Catfish are fair on chicken livers and nightcrawlers.
LA CYGNE: mid to upper 70s, clear, low Outlook: KDWPT reports: catfishing has been good from shore using sunfish or cutshad, worms, prepared baits, or liver. The creek mouth is a good area to look. Fish feeders are off. Crappie are on structure now. Some fish have been caught off the wall gates where water is released at the dam. Some fish caught off of marina coves and it’s usually good at the hot water outlet area. Try the Georgia Cubes as well. Largemouth are fair to good fishing the deep side of the riprap areas and weed beds. Use crankbaits, jerkbaits, or spinner baits like shad imitations. White bass are fair to good using shad imitations or silver spoons in the creek mouth area. Most have been in the 1-2 pound range. Some wipers have been found surfacing recently.
MELVERN: 79 degrees, clear, 1 foot high (20 CFS) Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: Crappie are good lakewide. Check shallow established brush piles, on the shore on the north side of the lake, and along the docks on minnows and small jigs. Smallmouth are good lakewide on minnows, crankbaits, and jigs on rocky banks. White bass are fair to good on shallow crankbaits and minnows on wind blown points and along the dam. Channel catfish are fair to good with a few caught near cleaning stations and in the outlet area on nightcrawlers. Blue cats have been good on mud flats and around the docks on crappie entrails or fresh cut bait. Lots of blue have been reported recently. Walleye are fair and being reported along the dam trolling nightcrawlers.
MILFORD: 73 degrees, stained, 2.5 feet high (1000 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Catfish are biting very well overall. Channel catfish are biting 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 good 10-20 feet deep suspended near points, flooded brush, and ledges on jigs and minnows and should still be shallow, too, on warmer days. Walleye are fair near rocky or wind-swept mud banks with jigs or jerkbaits as they move up to spawn. White bass/wipers are good along windy banks and points using jigs on the reservoir. Black bass have really picked up in the last week. Look for smallmouth on gravel banks and points.
PERRY: upper 70s/low 80s, stained, 3 feet high (3500 CFS) Outlook: Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle reports: crappie are moving to structure and catfish are beginning to be caught shallow. Look for crappie 8 feet deep in 16-20 feet of water. White bass have been hitting around Rock Creek Bridge and still in the Delaware. Black bass are fair casting crankbaits and spinner jigs near any of the newly fallen trees along the shoreline.
POMONA: 77 degrees, stained, 0.3 feet high (15 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: catfish are biting well. Good baits are worms, dip baits, sunfish entrails, cutshad, and stink/prepared baits. Both of the parks provide many good shorelines for bank fishing. Walleye are slow but moving into the flats after spawning. Try off the dam or along deeper steep banks on crank baits or jigs tipped with nightcrawlers. Crappie are post spawn now. Work the shallow areas then move deeper. Some nice fish caught especially around the rock quarry on dark jigs and/or minnows. White bass/wipers have been slow.
SHAWNEE MISSION PARK: 83 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Johnson County Parks and Rec reports: trout are fair on powerbait. Crappie and bluegill are hitting small plastics, worms, and minnow imitation lures. Catfish are fair on cut bait. Bass and wipers have been hitting crank baits very well.
TUTTLE CREEK: 75 degrees, clear, 12 feet high (5000 CFS) Outlook: Kansas Department of Wildlife reports: Crappie are good lakewide on brush 8-12 feet deep. Coves in southern third of the reservoir have some locally good largemouth bass populations but fishing has been fair lately. Catfish are fair on fresh cut bait on flats and channel swings. Look for fresh inflows of water. Saugeye are fair to good and 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.