Outdoors report: Warm spell in Kansas City area could make for a good week of fishing

Missouri fishing reports

BLUE SPRINGS: mid 50s, 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. Watch for wind blown banks for the hybrids/whites. Largemouth have been slow in the last week but some nice ones are still being caught around the marina on Ned rigs. Crappie should be getting up shallow feeding on shad.

BULL SHOALS: 62 degrees, dingy to clear, a little high Outlook: Del Colvin Guide Service reports: ACE has been slightly slowing the generation and the shad are getting balled up more. There are baitfish pushing into the creeks. Idle time will pay off. I have been doing better towards backs of creeks for numbers. Some of the shad balls are getting bigger but suspended over the old creek channels. No steady deep bite yet. Mainlake shad are definitely spread out. Topwater has slowed drastically for me. Couple on el Floppo. Try spinnerbait, chatterbait, or squarebill, match color to the water color for powerfishing “shallow” if there’s bushes/snags with deeper water close and shad. Also target shallow flats close to old creek channels with runoff. Rock crawler, wigglewar, squarebill are all working with some wind on 45 degree banks with nasty rock transition. As sun comes up, or post frontal, change tactics and slow down. Jigs and shakey head on channel swings. Brush piles are getting good if there’s shad present. Slow down when you do get bit. Find the shad, find the fish! Fish the conditions. Find Del Colvin’s online fishing report on YouTube. Below the dam: John Berry of Berry Bros. Guide Service reports: The White has been good. Light generation overnight and moderate generation during the day and limited wadable water.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 #14 pheasant tail nymph).

JACOMO: mid 50s, clear, normal Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group reports: catfish are fair anywhere from 20+ feet down to 5 feet or less on fresh cut bait or prepared baits. Crappie will be near brush in 10-15 feet of water or along the public docks using jigs or minnows and moving shallow. Trolling crankbaits should be a good way to find all species of fish. Bluffs will probably be holding more fish soon. White bass are all over the lake, including out in front of the dam. Look for wind blown banks and find them on your graphs. Look for bass along the remaining weedlines or rocky banks in the coves. Find the bait and you’ll find the fish. They’ll be up shallow. Squarebills and spinnerbaits should produce.

JAMES A. REED: 50 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Missouri Dept. of Conservation reports: Fishing pressure is very low. Largemouth are fair on plastics and squarebills. Nice fish are being caught, but not necessarily getting a lot of bites. This week should be better with warmer weather. Crappie have picked up a little bit in last week. All other species slow.

LAKE OF THE OZARKS: upper 50s/low 60s, slightly stained, 2.5 feet low Outlook: bassingbob.com reports: shallow water has been the key on bass recently. Less than 10 feet of water on creek channel ledges and rocky banks. Spinnerbaits have been the best producer, but jigs and topwater. The crappie are schooling and docks are starting to load up. The bigger docks such as marina docks or bigger secondary point docks are high percentage places to be fishing. You might find the crappie in multiple depths on them as well. 1/16th ounce jig head with a baby shad plastic is the ticket.

LONGVIEW: low 60s, clear, a little low Outlook: Longview Marina reports: a lot of crappie are being caught but most are small. They are about 18 feet down. Catfish are biting really well right now around the marina area and there are big ones being caught on livers and worms. Bass fishing is picking up along the drop offs and rocky areas near the beaches. Marina open 8am-3pm. Minnows won’t be available until April 2021.

NORFORK: 66 degrees, stained, 3 feet high Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: most fish have moved up to feed for the fall in the last few days. Yesterday we caught all species in less than 30 feet of water, all on spoons. The lake has been turning over for winter and it’s in the last stages of the turnover. It’s a good time to be on the water if you’re looking for that wall hanger.

POMME DE TERRE: 60 degrees, clear, 0.5 feet low (50 CFS) Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: bass have slowed in the last week. Crappie are are still slow, try either jigs or minnows up shallow. Muskies are hitting here and there but really have to work for them. Shad have been hard to find, but if you find them predators should be nearby. All other species slow or no reports.

SMITHVILLE: 64 degrees, clear, 0.4 feet low (8 CFS) Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: main lake brush piles 10 feet deep are still key for the crappie right now. Early morning bite seems to have been better. They’ve been hitting around the marina and some of the docks, too. Bass are hitting in 10 feet of water or less around stumps. Catfish are fair to good in 10 feet or less on dough or dip bait. 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: 55 degrees, clear, 6 feet low (600 CFS) Outlook: Tandem Fly Outfitters reports: everything is transitioning to the fall pattern. Fish are moving shallow. Overall it’s been a tougher bite in the last week and you really have to grind to find your fish. 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: 62 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: TABLE ROCK: Bass: The bite has gotten tougher after the cold front. Most are being caught around 8’ -20’ deep on long gravel and rock mixed points on the main lake with a football jig. Smallmouth are moving up shallow with the cooler days and cooler water temps, look for them to be on mixed gravel and rock main lake points 5’ - 15’ deep with a Pee Wee Jig, shaky head or Ned rig. As shad move toward the backs of creeks random fish have been schooling for brief periods, keep a top water handy for when this happens. Crappie: Most are coming off deep brush and standing timber 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, dingy, half to full unit Outlook: Phil Lilley of Lilleys’ Landing reports: 8 flood gates plus turbines opened up Monday afternoon for 15,000 CFS. Some is low oxygen water and that might not mix with the high oxygen water until downstream. Fish will congregate to the oxygenated water. Boating to the cable and throwing white jigs should produce as threadfin shad come through the gates. Below fall creek, drifting nightcrawlers, pink power worm, or Power Eggs should produce some fish.

TRUMAN: low to mid 50s, stained, 2 feet low Outlook: Richard Bowling’s Guide Service and trumanlakefishingintel.com reports: hybrids and whites slowed down late last week and pulled off the banks, but should be moving back up this week with warmer weather and heavy wind. KK island area should be good. Any windy bank, point, or hump in the vicinity should have them. Crappie are somewhat scattered on the lower lake but settling in to winter pattern on bluffs in 18-22 feet of water. Biting well in the upper Grand anywhere from 6-7 feet deep in 7-12 feet of water. Most have been tight to timber. Catfish have been very good all over on channel ledges in 10-35 feet of water. Bass have been tough but getting better. Spinnerbaits and squarebills on wind blown banks and pockets is starting to pick up. Visit trumanlakefishingintel.com for in-depth daily/weekly reports and videos.

Kansas fishing reports

CLINTON: 50 degrees, clear, 0.7 feet low (7 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Boat Ramp #4 in the Bloomington West Park is closed. Crappie fair 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 50s to upper 70s, clear, normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: Largemouth are slow, but fishing near the hotwater outlet is a good spot with lipless cranks, jerkbaits, or swimbaits. Walleye slow/fair on bottom bouncers, crankbaits, rattletraps, and twister-tail grubs worked along points and humps. Catfish fair/good on wind blown banks or creek channel swings and humps. Smallmouth slow/fair on small shad imitators like compact spinnerbaits or crankbaits. Crayfish imitating baits should also work. Numbers have fallen off. 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. Crappie slow/fair in deep standing timber and brush piles or near the channel breaks on jigs or minnows.. Entrance gate phone number is 620-364-2475, call for lake conditions.

EL DORADO: mid 50s, stained, 1.3 feet low (5 CFS) Outlook: KS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism: 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 15-18 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 40s, clear, 0.5 feet high (50 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: crappie can be found 10-20 feet deep on brush piles and other submerged structure. 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 is slowing down but the State Park Area is producing some along the north shore. Dam is also a good place to try. 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: 45 degrees, stained, 0.4 feet low (3 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Some walleye are being caught on shallow flats and mud banks drifting live bait, jigging, trolling crankbaits, or casting baits while targeting structure. Crappie fair on structure and brush near channel ledges, biting well on jigs and minnows 12-16 feet deep. White bass good on wind blown points. Channel cats fair lakewide at dusk on natural and artificial baits. All other species slow or no reports.

KILL CREEK PARK: 52 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Johnson County Parks and Rec reports: Trout were recently stocked and are good on trout flies or powerbait. Crappie and bluegill good on nightcrawlers. Bass good on jigs. Catfish fair on dough bait and nightcrawlers.

LA CYGNE: mid 50s to upper 70s, stained, normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: no changes. Catfishing is good from shore and excellent on set lines 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. Hot water area is getting better. White bass are excellent using shad imitations or silver spoons in the creek mouth area and hot water area. Hybrids are tough to come by. Largemouth are moving with the bait and the creek channel has been a hot spot. Crankbaits, plastic worms, and spinnerbaits should produce. Bite has been pretty decent recently.

MELVERN: 58 degrees, clear, 1.2 feet low (20 CFS) Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: Crappie are poor-fair 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 fair on nightcrawlers and liver lakewide. Blue cats fair on cut bait on mud flats and by the marina. Walleye fair while trolling nightcrawlers along flat areas on north shore near State Park. All other species slow or no reports.

MILFORD: 54 degrees, stained, 0.5 feet high (200 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, brush, and ledges on minnows. Walleye fair on rocky or wind-swept mud banks with jigs, crankbaits, or bottom bouncers. White bass/wipers slow to fair along windy banks and points using jigs on the reservoir. Black bass fair on gravel banks and points.

PERRY: 51 degrees, stained, 0.8 feet high (80 CFS) Outlook: Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle reports: crappie fishing has been very good in the last week in brush piles from 10-22 feet down. Catfish have all been good lakeside and below the spillway.

POMONA: 50 degrees, stained, 1 foot 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 8-15 feet deep. Wipers are slow but can be found moving shallow on wind blown banks chasing shad. All other species slow.

SHAWNEE MISSION PARK: 52 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Johnson County Parks and Rec reports: Trout were recently stocked and are good on trout flies or on powerbait. Crappie and bluegill are fair on small plastics and worms. Catfish are fair on cut bait. Bass and wipers are fair on topwater and squarebills.

TUTTLE CREEK: 50 degrees, stained, 2.9 feet high Outlook: Kansas Department of Wildlife reports: Crappie fair in brush 8-12 feet deep on jigs/minnows. Look for them to move shallow now. 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.

Missouri hunting reports

(no updates from last week)

SWAN LAKE: On 10/21, roughly 2,209 total ducks, about 1,600 mallards, 250 wood ducks, and the rest mixed species were observed.

COLUMBIA BOTTOM CA: On 10/19, 343 ducks were observed, mostly mallards and teal.

DUCK CREEK CA: On 10/19, 12,620 ducks were observed - 5095 gadwalls, 4580 mallards, 1850 pintails, and other mixed species.

EAGLE BLUFFS CA: On 10/19, 1,261 ducks were observed - 810 mixed dabblers, 325 mallards, and other mixed species.

FOUR RIVERS CA: On 10/19, 4,400 ducks were observed - 2030 mallards, 1450 pintails, 450 teal, 430 gadwalls, and other mixed species.

GRAND PASS CA: On 12/19, 22,000 ducks were observed - 12100 gadwalls, 4400 mallards, 2200 pintails, 2200 teal, and other mixed species.

MARAIS TEMPS CLAIR CA: On 10/21, 6,100 ducks were observed - 2500 pintails, 1500 gadwalls, 1500 mixed dabblers, 600 mallards, and other mixed species.

MINGO NWR: On 10/19, 5,300 ducks were observed - 1500 teal, 1200 mallards, 900 gadwalls, 780 mixed dabblers, 580 pintails, and other mixed species.

MONTROSE CA: On 10/19, 615 ducks were observed - 450 gadwalls, 100 mallards, and other mixed species.

OTTER SLOUGH CA: On 10/20, 23,670 ducks were observed - 6940 teal, 4400 gadwalls, 4100 mallards, 3700 wigeon, 3400 pintails, 700 shovelers, 270 mixed dabblers, and other mixed species.

SETTLES FORD CA: On 10/19, 300 ducks were observed - 210 gadwalls, 40 mallards, and other mixed species.

Kansas hunting reports

CHEYENNE BOTTOMS: As of 10/29, 20,000 - 30,000 ducks, mostly pintails, greenwings, shovelers, gadwalls, mix of divers, some mallards have shown up. 75,000-100,000 geese, mostly snows, but still strong numbers of whitefronts and some little Canadas. Few sandhill cranes have been staying on the area.

MARAIS DES CYGNES: As of 10/29, 30,000+ ducks, mostly mallards and green wing teal. Good numbers of gadwall and pintails, as well as a few wood ducks left around the area. Almost no geese observed.

NEOSHO: As of 11/2, we saw the first major migration of the year over the weekend of Oct. 17th and 18th, and the second major migration on the 24th and 25th of Oct. 50,000+ mixed ducks (50% Mallard, the rest are early season migrants such as Pintail, Gadwall, Wigeon, Green Wing Teal and Blue Wing Teal). 15,000+ White fronted geese, 40,000+ Snow Geese and 1000 Canada Geese.

PERRY: As of 10/28, around 15,000 ducks were observed. Mostly Mallards with a good number of Pintails and Green wing teal as well. A wide variety of species were observed including Northern Shovelers, Gadwall, Wood Ducks, Redheads, Goldeneyes, and Buffleheads. West River Boat Ramp and parking area renovation is complete. Kyle Marsh is full and both East and West ramps are usable for launching.

TUTTLE CREEK: As of 10/28, 4900 ducks and 0 Canada Geese were observed.

MILFORD: As of 10/29, throughout the week, 4,000-4,500 ducks were observed, consisting of Mallards, Pintails, Green-Wing Teal and others, also 300-350 geese were observed.

QUIVIRA: no recent estimate reported.

MELVERN: As of 10/29, 3 Duck Marsh - 170 mallards, 10 wood ducks, 50 pintail, 70 teal; Willow Marsh - 20 mallards, 10 wood ducks, 30 pintail; Sundance Marsh - 8 mallards, 7 wood ducks, 12 gadwall; Lowman’s Cove - 4 mallards, 9 gadwall, 4 hooded merganser; Shoveler Slough - 600 pintails, 600 mallards, 250 teal; Refuge - 1000 coots