Outdoors report: Missouri rifle season is over, but other opportunities still await
Editor’s note: This is the final edition of the fishing and hunting report.
FISHING
Missouri
BLUE SPRINGS: low 50s, clear, low 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. Blow hole will be good if we get a good rain. 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: 59 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Del Colvin Guide Service reports: the shad are getting balled up more. I suspect the deep bite will get better once generation slows. There are baitfish in the creeks. Idle time on the graph looking for loons and video gaming 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 30-55 feet down. Ice jig spoon is working if it’s windy. Damiki dropshot McMinnow if it’s flat. The deep bite is hot! Mainlake shad are definitely spread out. Try spinnerbait, rock crawler, wiggle wart. Match color to the water color for powerfishing “shallow” if there’s wind clouds bushes/snags with deeper water close and shad. Rock crawler, wigglewart, 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 tops are getting good if there’s shad present. Jerkbait could be your friend in these situations. Follow 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 Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam will close from November 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021 to accommodate the brown trout spawn. The State Park will be seasonal Catch and Release for the same period. All brown trout must be immediately released. In addition, night fishing is prohibited in this area during this period. On February 1, 2021 this section will open to fishing. On the moderate flows the White has fished well. The hot spot 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 (my current favorite combination is a #14 pheasant tail nymph with a #18 ruby midge).
JACOMO: low 50s, clear, low Outlook: Lee’s Summit Area Fishing Facebook group reports: fishing has been slow overall. 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, but even trolling has been slow. 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 rocky banks in the coves. Find the bait and you’ll find the fish. They’ll be up shallow. Squarebills and spinnerbaits should produce.
LAKE OF THE OZARKS: upper 50s, slightly stained, 2.5 feet low Outlook: bassingbob.com reports: For bass, fishing has been tough. Only took 25 pounds to win recent 2 day FLW Wildcard tournament. Topwater bite has been tough. Bottom baits like jigs around brush piles and dock pilings. The crappie are being found in brush piles 20-25 feet deep on chartreuse jigs or minnows.
LONGVIEW: mid 50s, clear, 1.5 feet low Outlook: Longview Marina reports: numbers of crappie are being caught, but have to work through a lot to find quality. 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 slow to fair near drop offs and rocky areas near the beaches. Marina open 8am-3pm. Minnows won’t be available until April 2021.
NORFORK: 62 degrees, stained, 0.1 feet highOutlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: best bite has been walleye, followed by crappie and stripers. They have all been on the banks hitting a Bink’s Spoon.
POMME DE TERRE: 56 degrees, clear, 2.5 feet high (50 CFS) Outlook: Pomme Muskie Guide Service reports: bass are fair, but have to work for them. Crappie are still slow, try either jigs or minnows anywhere from 10-30 feet deep. Muskies are slow. Shad have been hard to find, but if you find them predators should be nearby. All other species slow or no reports.
SMITHVILLE: 61 degrees, clear, 0.5 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 in Little Platte or Camp Branch. 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: 54 degrees, clear, 5.5 feet low (40 CFS) Outlook: Tandem Fly Outfitters reports: White bass are stacking up on wind blown points and flats. Spoons and road runners are the baits of choice. Crappie are scattered in the guts of the creek arms, occasionally stacking up on nearby brush. They are relating to bait and not the brush. Find the bait in the creeks and you’ll find the crappie. The jig bite is insane for bass. 3/8-7/16oz brown jig is the bait of choice right now, especially when there’s no wind. If it’s windy pick up a 3/8oz white or grey spinner bait or a wiggle wart. The bass are really keyed in on crayfish right now before they go into hibernation for the winter. That’s why the jig and wart is so effective right now. Walleye are slow, but try vertically jigging crawlers or pulling bottom bouncers. Look for them 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.
TABLE ROCK: 59 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Eric Prey of Focused Fishing Guide Service reports: Bass: There’s a deep bite starting to show up; spoons, jigging raps and drop shot rigs are working 25’-45’ deep around schools of shad in creek arms. 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. Jerkbaits and crankbaits have been working on steeper banks with wind, cloud cover helps this bite. 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: 58 degrees, clear, half to full unit Outlook: Phil Lilley of Lilleys’ Landing reports: Trout fishing below Fall Creek remains very good for most people. Anglers are drifting nightcrawlers and Power Bait mostly and catching good-sized rainbows. Early mornings, dam operators are not running quite as much water, so you have to use small split shot to get your bait down. The drift rigs we sell only go down to 1/8th ounce bell weights, which is sometimes too heavy to use in slow current. Stay towards the middle of the lake to avoid snags. Trolling big spinners or medium diving crank baits has caught fish as well. This is a good way to catch a big brown trout, too. The best direction to troll is downstream if there is current. The Berkley pink worm under a float and drifting down lake from Lilleys’ Landing should work. Early, set the float at about four feet, dropping it to as much as seven feet as the sun gets up over the water. Fishing the San Juan Worm under a float in the Trophy Area, as well as a scud, is catching good rainbows. Pink on the San Juan and tan and gray on the scud (#12). Guide Bill Babler dragged a jerk bait last week and caught some trophy rainbows. He used a shad color 606 (suspending) from the cable below the dam down past Fall Creek. Blake tried it and did really well drifting them in the Trophy Run stretch while 4.000 cubic feet per second of water was running the other day. We drift these suspending jerk baits using a drift rig and a 1/8th ounce bell weight. The jerk bait should be suspending and a medium diver. We’ve tried different colors and the shad style seems to work the best right now.
TRUMAN: upper 40s/low 50s, stained, 1.5 feet low Outlook: Richard Bowling’s Guide Service and trumanlakefishingintel.com reports: hybrids and whites are slowing down. 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 into winter pattern on bluffs in 18-22 feet of water. Biting well in the upper Grand anywhere from 8 feet deep in 10-14 feet of water. Most are nose up to timber. Catfish are fair all over on flats and channel ledges in 3-35 feet of water. Bass have been slow. Spinnerbaits and squarebills on wind blown banks and pockets should get them. Visit trumanlakefishingintel.com for in-depth daily/weekly reports and videos.
Kansas
CLINTON: 51 degrees, clear, 0.75 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 80s, clear, normal Outlook: KDWPT reports: Largemouth are slow, but fishing near the hot water 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 imitation 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: upper 40s/low 50s, stained, 1.42 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. Large numbers of gulls have arrived at the lake, but surface activity remains minimal. Crappie are fair in standing timber and brush piles 15-18 feet deep on minnows or trolling with crankbaits. Quantity is tough to find but the quality is very good. Blue cats are fair near river channels in the lower half of the lake on fresh cut bait. Walleye fair trolling crankbaits along wind blown shorelines, points, and old roads. Depth varies greatly as water temperatures are cooling with fish being caught from 5-24 feet deep. Trout Season opened on November 1 and were last stocked on Nov 12th. Fishing for trout has been good on Powerbait, cheese, small jigs, spinners, and spoons.
GLEN ELDER (WACONDA LAKE): upper 40s, clear, 0.7 feet high (50 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: crappie can be found 10-20 feet deep on brush piles and other submerged structure. The best walleye fishing can now be found along the river channel south of the bluffs west to Wally World. Fish can be found in 15-25 feet of water and are feeding aggressively now. Anglers may also find fish around the Cawker City causeway and off the north shore points in the state park. Smallmouth bass fishing is slowing down but anglers are catching some fish around the state park along the north shore. Catfish can be caught just about anywhere lakewide. The best 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: 48 degrees, stained, 0.5 feet low (10 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: 48 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Johnson County Parks and Rec reports: Trout are good on powerbait or rooster tails. Crappie and bluegill good on nightcrawlers. Bass good on jigs. Catfish fair on fresh cut bait.
LA CYGNE: low 50s to upper 80s, 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. A lot of 10-12 inches. 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. Hot water outlet has been a good area. Crankbaits, plastic worms, and spinnerbaits should produce. Bite has been pretty decent recently. White bass are stacked up in the creek mouth where the fresh water comes in.
MELVERN: 52 degrees, clear, 1.4 feet low (20 CFS) Outlook: Melvern Lake Marina reports: Crappie poor/fair lakewide in deeper water over established brush piles and along the docks on minnows and jigs. Smallmouth are fair lakewide on shallow crankbaits. Dam area should be a place to target. White bass poor/fair on shallow crankbaits and minnows on wind blown points and along the dam. Channel catfish fair on nightcrawlers and crappie entrails lakewide. Blue cats fair on cut bait on mud flats and by the marina. Walleye are poor with a few reports along the dam and a few that have been caught near the docks.
MILFORD: 51 degrees, stained, 0.1 feet high (450 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Zones A, B and C are currently in a Watch status for Blue Green Algae. See U.S. Army Corps. Of Engineers website for details. 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: 50 degrees, stained, 0.8 feet high (25 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, 1.3 feet low (15 CFS) Outlook: KDWPT reports: Catfish fair to good on worms, dip baits, sunfish entrails, cutshad, and stink/prepared baits. Look for water inflows. Both of the parks provide many good shorelines for bank fishing. Shallow windy shorelines and points are good places for crappie feeding on gizzard shad. Best baits are dark jigs and/or minnows. When releasing high volume of water the outlet/spillway is fantastic. All other species slow or no reports.
SHAWNEE MISSION PARK: 48 degrees, clear, normal Outlook: Johnson County Parks and Rec reports: Trout are good on black wooly buggers or on powerbait. Crappie and bluegill are fair on small plastics and worms. Catfish are fair on fresh cut bait. Bass and wipers are fair on spinnerbaits and squarebills.
TUTTLE CREEK: 52 degrees, stained, 4.3 feet high (200 CFS) Outlook: Kansas Department of Wildlife reports: The 2020 crappie sample collected the most fish over 10 inches in over 20 years. Fish can be found 8 to 12 feet deep around brush on jigs or 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.
HUNTING
Missouri waterfowl
Swan Lake: On 11/17, roughly 9800 ducks were observed. 6495 mallards, 2067 scaup, 971 green-winged teal, and other mixed species. 6000 snow geese also present.
Columbia Bottom CA: On 11/16, 4,012 ducks were observed. 2000 mallards, 1000 pintails, 400 ring necked ducks, and other mixed species.
Duck Creek CA: On 11/16, 33,010 ducks were observed. 15450 gadwalls, 9085 mallards, 6400 ring necked ducks, 800 shovelers, and other mixed species.
Eagle Bluffs CA: On 11/13, 17,958 ducks were observed. 14168 Mallards, 2100 Teal,780 Gadwalls,700 Shovelers, and other mixed species.
Four Rivers CA: On 11/16, 54,610 ducks were observed. 45000 Mallards, 4750 Mixed dabblers, 4000 Teal, 550 Pintails, 200 Shovelers, and other mixed species.
Grand Pass CA: On 11/17, 60,000 ducks were observed. 45000 Mallards and 15000 mixed ducks.
Marais Temps Clair CA: On 11/18, 2814 ducks were observed. 1600 Mallards, 950 Gadwalls, 200 Shovelers, and other mixed species.
Mingo NWR: On 11/16, 46,805 ducks were observed. 22147 Mallards, 10589 Gadwalls, 4890 Pintails, 4847 Teal, 1940 Ring-Necked ducks, 1606 Shovelers, 863 Wigeon, and other mixed species.
Montrose CA: On 11/16, 3,310 ducks were observed, including 2300 Mallards and 1000 Mixed dabblers.
Otter Slough CA: On 11/16, 26,000 ducks were observed - 6500 Gadwalls, 6500 Mallards, 6500 Pintails, 4800 Mixed dabblers, 1700 Mixed divers, and other mixed species.
Settles Ford CA: On 11/16, 2300 ducks were observed - 2100 Mallards and 200 Shovelers.
Kansas waterfowl
CHEYENNE BOTTOMS: As of 11/19, 15,000 - 20,000 ducks, mostly pintails, greenwings, shovelers, gadwalls, mix of divers, some mallards have shown up. Goose numbers are still pretty variable, but generally around 50,000 geese, mostly snows, but still strong numbers of whitefronts and very few Canadas.
MARAIS DES CYGNES: As of 11/20, still holding around 30,000, mostly mallards and green wing teal with some pintail and gadwall. Good numbers of white fronted geese around the valley too. Very few Canada geese.
NEOSHO: As of 11/23, 30,000+ mixed ducks (80% Mallard, the rest are early season migrants such as Pintail, Gadwall, Wigeon and Green Wing Teal). 10,000+ White fronted geese, 20,000+ Snow Geese and 1000 Canada Geese.
PERRY: As of 11/16, around 500 ducks were observed. Mostly Mallards and Gadwalls with a few teal and divers as well.
MILFORD: As of 11/19, due to heavy hunting pressure and warmer weather, bird numbers and hunting success has dropped significantly. Throughout the week roughly 75-100 mix bag of birds were observed.
MELVERN: As of 11/19, all wetlands full. Very few ducks observed.
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 11:39 AM.