Kansas City area fishing report: Fish are moving shallow as water temps cool down
Missouri
BLUE SPRINGS: low to mid 70s, stained, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook Group reports: White bass can be found lakewide. Bandit 200s and 300s are a good trolling option that will get the whites, crappie, and hybrids. Hybrids have been hitting live shad near the dam and have been caught shallow from the bank as well. Largemouth have been slow in the last week. Try jigs or 10-inch worms dropped in tight to standing timber on points. Topwater is getting better early in the mornings. Crappie can be found trolling or dipping trees. 4 bass at about 10.77 pounds won the most recent tournament.
BULL SHOALS: 75 degrees, dingy to clear, 9 feet high and falling fast Outlook: Del Colvin Guide Service reports: limited access to ramps still. September junk fishing! ACE has been pumping the water out which has some of the fish moving out on the points and there’s baitfish suspended throughout the lake. Start in the back third of a major creek. Topwater is going all day - poppers and wake baits hav been good. Try whopper plopper, buzz bait, or chatterbait for powerfishing “shallow” if it’s cloudy or stormy. Target shallow flats close to old creek channels with runoff. As sun comes up, change tactics and move out. Smallies/Kentuckies are stacked out on long main and secondary points, sunken islands, humps, channel swings, bluffs, and bluff ends but are closer to main lake points in 22-28 feet. With shad present, fish position will change depending on sun, wind, current, clouds, etc. Keep it moving. The shad are Moving and so are the fish. Also try 1/2 oz jig in green pumpkin orange or GP blue. Smallmouth are on gravel banks, at least the big crowds are thinning out. Del Colvin’s online fishing report on YouTube. Below the dam: John Berry of Berry Bros. Guide Service reports: heavy generation and no wadable water. The White has fished well. The hot spot has been 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 girdle bug suspended below it).
JACOMO: low to mid 70s, clear, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group reports: catfish are hitting deep in 20 feet or more of water on fresh cut shad. Some big channels have been taken recently. Crappie will be 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. White bass are all over the lake, including out in front of the dam. Find them on your graphs. Look for bass along the weedlines in the coves. Find the bait and you’ll find the fish. They’ll be up shallow here the more water temp begins to drop. Work every inch of the grass that’s left. Took 4 bass at 8.96 pounds to win the most recent tournament.
JAMES A. REED: 66 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Missouri Dept. of Conservation reports: all species have been pretty slow in the last week. Channel catfish are can be found on live and prepared baits. Largemouth are plastics. All other species slow.
LAKE OF THE OZARKS: mid 70s, slightly stained, 1.5 feet low Outlook: bassingbob.com reports: Most bass are coming off of jigs and worms in the backs of creeks holding bait fish. The river area has been very productive with similar methods around docks and creek channel banks. Topwater bite is starting to pick up on a whopper plopper near main lake bluffs. Things have been a little slow overall with a lot of shorts caught but should pick up in the next week. For crappie, dock shooting has been productive where there has been at least 25 feet of water at the end of the dock. They’ve been in the shade and hitting the best in the morning on jigs and minnows.
LONGVIEW: low 70s, clear, very low Outlook: Longview Marina reports: Catfish are biting really well right now around the marina area and there are big ones being caught. Crappie are good in the creek arms around timber, a lot of 7-10 inchers. Bass fishing is slow. Several keeper walleye have been reported in the last week coming from the dam and the pay dock. Marina open 8am-6pm and is stocked with minnows, worms, and chicken liver in stock but need a mask to enter.
NORFORK: 74 degrees, stained, 4 feet high and falling Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: best bite in the last week has been the white bass. Other bass bass are starting to school on the main lake though. Bink’s Spoon 3/8ths oz has been the ticket. Stripers are still deep and not feeding. Walleye are feeding at about 30 feet on ½ oz Bink’s Spoons.
POMME DE TERRE: 72 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: Bass are still hitting and biting shallow, but has slowed up from last week. Topwater is a good option early in the morning, then move to jigs or worms on shallow cover. Muskies are on the move but you have to cover water around the docks. Look for them with large lures like black bucktail spinners around docks. Crappie are still pretty slow but you can find them if you put the work in. All other species slow or no reports.
SMITHVILLE: low to mid 70s, clear, normal (8 CFS) Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: main lake brush piles 10-15 feet deep are still key for the crappie right now. Drop a minnow right to the top of the brush. Jigs are producing as well. Bass are getting better in 10 feet of water or less around stumps. Buzzbait is working well in the morning. Catfish are fair to good in 10 feet or less on dough or dip bait. Some nice flatheads and blues are also being caught on trot & limb lines. Goldfish or cut shad are best for these methods. Watch for the whites busting the surface, chasing shad, in the morning or evening. They have been in the backs of coves recently and on wind blown points. All other species slow or no reports.
STOCKTON: 70 degrees, clear, 4.6 feet low (40 CFS) Outlook: Tandem Fly Outfitters reports: everything is transitioning to the fall pattern. Fish are moving shallow. Use the same techniques, but start looking in the mouths of the creek arms. Walleye are fair vertically jigging crawlers or pulling bottom bouncers. Look for them on main lake points using a 1/8th- 1/4oz jig tipped with a night crawler. With a bottom bouncer and a worm harness, target main lake points and main lake flats. The whites are still active and schooling throughout the lake still around points surrounded by flats in the evenings. Crappie are still suspended in 12-25ft and can be caught trolling with flicker shad or near brush or standing timber with a jig or minnow. Very light bite and have to work through a lot of little guys. The bass are on main lake and secondary points and really starting to smash a squarebill, wakebait, buzzbait, and jigs.
TABLE ROCK: 74 degrees, clear, 2 feet low Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: Bass: Most are being caught around 28’-35’ deep on long gravel points on the main lake with a football jig. Smallmouth are starting to move up shallow with the cooler days and cooler water temps, look for them to be on mixed gravel and rock main lake points 12’ - 20’ deep with a Pee Wee Jig, shaky head or Ned rig. The topwater bite early and late on steeper shady banks is still producing a few fish a day, the key is to follow the shade and keep your bait in the shade to get bit. Crappie: Most are coming off deep brush around docks in the rivers, live minnows below a slip float set at 15’ – 18’ has been the best option. White Bass: still tough to find, a few are being caught trolling flats with small crank baits 10’ - 15’ deep over 25’. Occasionally you will find them schooling on the surface in the river arms early in the morning.
TANEYCOMO: 56 degrees, clear, 2 units of water Outlook: Phil Lilley of Lilleys’ Landing reports: The dam operators have been running 35 to 50 megawatts of power this weekend all day and all night - 2 units moving water at 2,400 to 3,600 cubic feet per second. Fly fishing below the dam has been excellent on the usual flies - scuds, sow bugs, S.J. worms, midges, streamers and sculpins. If you venture up as high as Trophy Run, you’ll find some great jig fishing in that area. Use the straight line method and 2-pound line to throw 1/32nd and 1/16th-ounce jigs. Best colors are white, white/black, sculpin and sculpin/peach (orange head) and black/sculpin. From Lookout Island down to Fall Creek, use the same setup but might go a little heavier jig and try tri-olive dark and an olive/ginger colors. Try a mega worm under a float, either fly or spinning outfit. Use 2-pound line or 6x tippet and fish it 4 to 6 feet deep. Best colors are white or peach. Night fishing has been popular lately, for good reason. Both browns and rainbows seem to be feeding heavily after dark, especially up in the trophy area. Night crawlers are still catching mostly rainbows. Again, 4-pound line is fine when using bait. Use just enough weight to get the bait to the bottom, especially if drifting. Sometimes this means using a very small split shot. You don’t want it hanging on the bottom when bouncing. Inject air in the worm, floating it off the bottom where a fish will see it quicker. Use only a half worm and hook it once in the middle using a #8 short shanked bronze hook. Salmon eggs and Powerbait is working too. Best colors have been pink and white. Gulp Eggs are good along with Pautzke’s salmon eggs with gold glitter.
TRUMAN: low to mid 70s, stained, 1.7 feet low Outlook: trumanlakefishingintel.com reports: crappie are being caught in the river arms in 8-14 feet of water anywhere from 8-12 feet down on minnows and jigs. They will still be in deeper brush piles on the lower lake. Largemouth bass are slow to fair, but are hitting shallow in less than 5 feet of water on main lake flats and bluff channel points. Buzzbaits fished very shallow along with a squarebill are producing. Spinnerbait picking up and if you’re going to flip, find the root wads. White bass/hybrids can be found by the dam and KK Island area and are biting well. 1 oz spoons or live shad should be your go to on humps 15-20 feet deep. Catfish have been a tough bite but you can find them on the flats in 8-12 feet of water drift fishing with fresh cut shad. Osage arm has been the best. Visit trumanlakefishingintel.com for daily reports from the experts.
Kansas
CLINTON: 72 degrees, clear, normal (21 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Boat Ramp #4 in the Bloomington West Park is closed. Crappie slow to fiar over brush piles and standing timber 10-20 feet deep mostly on jigs. Channel cats fair on shad, cut bait, or minnows. White bass fair/good casting crankbaits on the dam or windy points. Wipers have been mixed in. Look for humps in deep water along channel breaks to target wipers. They are hitting swimbaits and large jigs. The evening bite has been good when shad are at the surface.
COFFEY COUNTY: low to mid 70s, clear, normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: Largemouth are slow/fair fishing around shallow woody cover with topwater and jigs. Walleye fair on bottom bouncers, crankbaits, rattletraps, and twister-tail grubs worked along rocky shore line. Humps and points should produce some bites. Catfish have been fair/good on wind blown banks or creek channel swings and humps. Crappie fair in deep standing timber and brush piles or near the channel breaks on jigs or minnows. Smallmouth fair on crankbaits, swimbaits, and finesse plastics around rocky habitat. Topwater walking baits have been productive. Whites/wipers 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. Entrance gate phone number is 620-364-2475, call for lake conditions.
EL DORADO: upper 60s/low 70s, stained, 0.8 feet low (12 CFS) Outlook: KS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism: lake currently under a watch for harmful blue-green algae bloom. Wipers/white bass are fair to good on main lake points and deep water areas during mid-day hours. Trolling cranks in areas where the wind is blowing into or across is a great way to locate active fish. Crappie are fair in standing timber and brush piles 12-15 feet deep on minnows or trolling with crankbaits. Blue cats are fair near river channels in the lower half of the lake on fresh cut bait. Walleye have been caught on the flats on jig and crawler combos in water 9-12 feet deep.
GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): upper 60s, clear, 0.8 feet high (50 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: crappie can be found 10-20 feet deep on brush piles and other submerged structure. They’ll move in shallow soon chasing shad in the coves. The walleye are moving out to the river channel but many still remain in shallow water 4-8 feet. Look in the Walnut Creek area, west of the causeway, and in the shallow end of the north shore state park coves. A handful can be found in 30-35 feet along the river channel. Smallmouth bass fishing continues to produce with anglers catching some fish around the state park along the north shore. The best catfish numbers in the fall can be found around the mouth of Walnut Creek, along Sandy Beach, near Takota Point, and on the flats south of the golf course. Anglers continue to catch good numbers of large white bass across the reservoir. Slab spoons, white and chartreuse twistertails, roadrunners, and Rattletraps are all good bets to catch some white bass now.
HILLSDALE: upper 60s, stained, 0.2 feet high (40 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Crappie fair on structure and brush near channel ledges, biting well on jigs and minnows 12-16 feet deep. White bass fair on wind blown points. Channel cats fair/good being caught lakewide at dusk on natural and artificial baits. All other species slow or no reports.
KILL CREEK PARK: 68 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Johnson County Parks and Rec reports: trout are slow to fair, try powerbait. Crappie and bluegill are good on nightcrawlers and minnows. Bass have been good on jigs. Catfish are fair on dough bait and nightcrawlers.
LA CYGNE: mid 70s to upper 80s, stained, normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: no changes. Catfishing is good from shore using sunfish or cutshad, worms, prepared baits, or liver. Start at the creek mouth. Crappie are biting well on structure. Some caught off the wall gates where water is released at the dam and also on Georgia cubes. White bass are good using shad imitations or silver spoons in the creek mouth area. Hybrids are tough to come by. Notes from area local: Best bass bite has been yum dinger green pumpkin red fleck rigged wacky style. Some keepers caught on green pumpkin tube. Look for topwater to pick up in the mornings.
MELVERN: 71 degrees, clear, 0.3 feet low (20 CFS) Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: Crappie are fair to good lakewide in deeper water over established brush piles and along the docks on minnows and jigs in 10-20 feet of water. Smallmouth are fair lakewide on shallow crankbaits. Dam area should be a place to target. White bass fair on shallow crankbaits and minnows on wind blown points and along the dam. Channel catfish are good on nightcrawlers and liver lake wide. Blue cats are fair on cut bait on mud flats and by the marina. Walleye are fair while trolling nightcrawlers along flat areas on north shore near State Park. All other species slow or no reports.
MILFORD: 76 degrees, stained, 1.4 feet high (25 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Catfish fair to good lakewide. Channel catfish are biting cut bait, worms, and stink bait. Blue catfish are being found on fresh cut bait on wind blown flats and river channel ledges. Crappie fair 10-20 feet deep suspended near points, flooded brush, and ledges on minnows. Walleye slow to fair on rocky or wind-swept mud banks with jigs, crankbaits, or bottom bouncers. White bass/wipers fair along windy banks and points using jigs on the reservoir. Black bass fair on gravel banks and points.
PERRY: 63 degrees, stained, 1.25 feet high (25 CFS) Outlook: Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle reports: crappie are in brush piles 8-14 feet deep. Most are 8 feet deep anywhere from 14-20 feet of water though. Catfish are good lakewide using beans and Triple S dip bait, shrimp, or chicken liver. Whites are being found at the Devil’s Gap area and getting better.
POMONA: 67 degrees, stained, 0.4 feet low (15 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Catfish fair to good on worms, dip baits, sunfish entrails, cutshad, and stink/prepared baits. Both of the parks provide many good shorelines for bank fishing. Crappie are biting well on minnows in the rock quarry and in brush piles. All other species slow.
SHAWNEE MISSION PARK: 68 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Johnson County Parks and Rec reports: trout are slow to fair on powerbait. Crappie and bluegill are fair on small plastics, worms, and minnow imitation lures. Catfish are fair on cut bait. Bass and wipers are good on plastic baits and squarebills.
TUTTLE CREEK: 69 degrees, stained, 5.25 feet high (100 CFS) Outlook: Kansas Department of Wildlife reports: Crappie fair in brush 10-14 feet deep on jigs/minnows. Lake and connected river system have a great population of channels and they are biting shallow. You’ll find bass in the southern third of the reservoir. Saugeye are fair to good and best in the River Pond or at Rocky Ford.