Fishing and hunting report for Jan. 1
FISHING
Missouri
▪ TANEYCOMO: Clear, up to four units have been running in the morning. Outlook: Lilleys’ Landing reports: Trophy Area: trout excellent on drift rigs or split shot with scud flies (No. 12 or 14 gray, brown olive or tan), No. 14 San Juan worms (red, cerise or pink), egg flies (peach, pink, light cream), or No. 14 woolly buggers (black, olive or white). Below Fall Creek: trout excellent on Gulp Power Eggs, PowerBait Eggs, night crawlers, Trout Magnets drifting from Fall Creek past Cooper Creek.
▪ STOCKTON: 42 degrees, clear, one-half foot high. Outlook: Stockton Lake Guide Service reports: crappies good on 1/8-ounce grubs in 25 feet of water along bluff ends and in deep brush; walleyes fair on jigs in 20 feet of water along bluffs and bluff ends; bass very good on jerkbaits, jigs in 12 to 20 feet of water along rocky areas.
▪ NORFORK: 48 degrees, clear, 5 feet low. Outlook: Bink’s Guide Service reports: bass excellent on 1/4-ounce Bink’s spoons in 45 to 50 feet of water; stripers fair on Bink’s Spoons, live shiners in 60 to 70 feet of water; crappies fair on jigs tipped with minnows in 28 to 30 feet of water in brush.
▪ TABLE ROCK: 48 degrees, clear, 5 feet low. Outlook: White River Lodge reports: crappies fair on jigs, minnows in Department of Conservation brush piles in the James River arm; bass good on Alabama rigs, jerkbaits at varying depths up to 30 feet; white bass good on one-half ounce jigging spoons in 50 to 70 feet of water in creek channels.
▪ TRUMAN: 42 degrees, clear, 1.6 feet high. Outlook: Tightwad Bait and Tackle reports: crappies fair on jigs in 6 to 10 feet of water along bluffs; white bass, hybrids fair on jigging spoons over humps or on Rooster Tails on windy main-lake flats; catfish good on cut shad.
▪ BULL SHOALS: High 40s, clear, 6 feet low. Outlook: 125 Marina reports: largemouth, Kentucky bass good on crankbaits, plastic baits, spinnerbaits in coves.
▪ SMITHVILLE: Upper 30s, clear, normal. Outlook: Camp Branch Marina reports: crappies fair to good on jigs, grubs, small jigging spoons off thre marina docks.
▪ REED AREA: Mid 30s, clear, full pool; 50 percent ice cover on lakes. Outlook: Department of Conservation reports: crappies, trout fair where you can find open water.
▪ POMME DE TERRE: 45 degrees, clear, 2 feet high. Outlook: Muskie Guide Service reports: crappies fair on jigs 15 feet down in 30 feet of water in the brush.
▪ LAKE OF THE OZARKS: 45 degrees, clear, near normal. Outlook: Gier’s Bass Pro reports: bass poor to fair (a few are being caught on jerkbaits off main-lake points, along docks, over brush); catfish poor to fair (a few are being caught drifting cut bait in 35 feet of water).
▪ JACOMO: Mid 30s, clear, normal. Outlook: Jacomo Marina reports: No update available. Marina has been closed for holiday break. It reopens Friday.
▪ BLUE SPRINGS: Mid 30s, clear, near normal. Outlook: Blue Springs Lake Marina reports: No update available. Marina has been closed for holiday break. It reopens Friday.
▪ LONGVIEW: Mid 30s, 51-inch clarity, one-half foot low. Outlook: Longview Lake Marina reports: No update available. Marina has been closed for holiday break. It reopens Friday.
Kansas
▪ LA CYGNE: 56 degrees at the hot-water outlet, 46 degrees on the main lake, clear, normal. Outlook: Linn County Parks: crappies very good on jigs at the hot-water outlet and at spillway gate; wipers, largemouth bass good on crankbaits, jigs; blue catfish good on big shad at the hot-water outlet.
▪ COFFEY COUNTY: 65 degrees at hot-water outlet, 45 degrees on the main lake, clear, 2 feet low. Outlook: Coffey County reports: white bass, wipers good on jigging spoons, grubs, smallmouth bass, catfish fair.
▪ MILFORD: 39 degrees, clear, 1 foot high. Outlook: Guide Vic Oertle reports: white bass, wipers fair on jigging spoons in 22 to 27 feet of water.
▪ WILSON: High 30s, murky, 8 feet low. Outlook: Knothead’s reports: stripers good, walleyes fair on one-ounce jigs in deep water.
▪ EL DORADO: High 30s, clear, 2 feet low. Outlook: Wildlife, Parks and Tourism reports: crappies good, walleyes fair on jigs in 15 to 18 feet of water in brush along dropoffs; blue catfish fair on cut shad in the river channel.
▪ CLINTON: 34 degrees, clear, 1 foot low. Outlook: Clinton Marina reports: crappies fair on jigs off the marina docks.
▪ HILLSDALE: Upper 30s, clear, slightly high. Outlook: Jayhawk Marina reports: crappies poor to fair off marina docks.
▪ PERRY: 37 degrees, clear, near normal. Outlook: Bait Hut reports: all species poor.
▪ GLEN ELDER: 33 degrees, clear, 2 feet low. Outlook: Wayne’s Sporting Goods reports: all species poor.
▪ POMONA: 35 degrees, clear, 2 feet low. Outlook: KDWPT reports: all species poor.
▪ SHAWNEE MISSION: Upper 30s, clear, normal. Outlook: Johnson County Park and Rec reports: all species poor.
▪ KILL CREEK: Upper 30s, 1- to 2-foot clarity, normal. Outlook: Johnson County Park and Rec reports: all species poor.
▪ HERITAGE: Upper 30s, murky, normal. Outlook: Johnson County Park and Rec reports: all species poor.
▪ TUTTLE CREEK: 39 degrees, muddy, normal. Outlook: Guide Vic Oertle reports: all species poor.
▪ MELVERN: 35 degrees, clear, 2 feet low. Outlook: Melvern Marina reports: all species poor.
Other area waters
▪ GRAND (OKLA.): Mid 30s, fairly clear, normal. Outlook: Guide Rusty Pritchard reports: paddlefish snagging fair to good in the river channels; crappies good on jigs along docks.
▪ WHITE RIVER (ARK.): clear, variable power generation. Outlook: Gaston’s White River Resort reports: Fly fishing: trout good on nymphs, midges, egg patterns and wooly buggers. Boat fishing has been good from first light until 10 or 11 a.m. when there is current. After that, power generation has been reduced to minimum flow and wade fishing has been best. Spin fishing: trout good on fluorescent pink PowerBait worms with one PowerBait egg, live redworms, night crawlers and spoons.
▪ BEAVER (ARK.): 41 degrees, clear, low. Outlook: Bailey’s Beaver Lake Guide Service reports: stripers fair to good trolling live shad in up to 30 feet of water in the mouths of large arms.
HUNTING
Missouri
North and Middle Zone duck seasons are closed; South Zone season is open and will run through Jan. 25. Goose seasons will run through Jan. 31.
▪ FOUNTAIN GROVE: Low goose numbers.
▪ SQUAW CREEK: 56,580 ducks (mostly mallards); 2,700 geese (mostly Canadas). Marshes are ice-covered.
▪ SWAN LAKE: No update. No waterfowl count conducted this week.
▪ BOB BROWN: Low goose numbers.
▪ NODAWAY VALLEY: Low goose numbers.
▪ GRAND PASS: 150,000 ducks (mostly mallards); 200 Canada geese.
▪ FOUR RIVERS: 91,000 ducks (mostly mallards); 190 Canada geese.
▪ SCHELL-OSAGE: 90,000 ducks (mostly mallards); 500 Canada geese; 15,000 snow geese.
▪ SMITHVILLE: 2,000 dark geese; variable numbers of snow geese.
▪ MONTROSE: 32,800 ducks (mostly mallards); 300 Canada geese.
▪ OTTER SLOUGH: 26,200 ducks (mostly mallards), 28,000 geese (mostly snows).
▪ DUCK CREEK: 13,750 ducks (mostly mallards); 185 Canada geese.
Kansas
Duck season will run through Sunday in the Low Plains Early Zone. In the Low Plains Late Zone, the first segment will run through Sunday, then resume Jan. 17-25. Hunting in the Southeast Zone will continue through Jan. 25. The goose seasons will run through Feb. 15.
▪ CHEYENNE BOTTOMS: Less than 5,000 ducks (mostly mallards); less than 75,000 geese. Marshes are 99 percent ice-covered. During last week of December, hunters averaged two ducks per person and less than one goose per hunter.
▪ MARAIS DES CYGNES: 25,000 ducks (mostly mallards); a few geese. Ice up to one inch thick.
▪ QUIVIRA: 2,200 ducks (mostly mallards); 52,000 geese (mostly snows).
▪ MELVERN: 8,000 ducks (mostly mallards); 500 Canada geese.
▪ MILFORD: 700 ducks (mostly mallards); 150 geese. Hunting has been poor.
▪ PERRY: 12,000 ducks (mostly mallards); 7,000 Canada geese. Birds are using main lake; wetlands have ice.
▪ NEOSHO: 20,000 ducks (mostly mallards); 900 Canada geese. Hunting has been fair. Ice on marshes.
▪ KIRWIN: Declining waterfowl numbers. Less than 100,000 total waterfowl. Ice forming rapidly.
▪ CLINTON: Low waterfowl numbers. Hunting has been poor.
▪ McPHERSON VALLEY WETLANDS: 4,000 to 5,000 mallards; 3,000 dark geese in area. Marshes have ice.
▪ JAMESTOWN: Low waterfowl numbers. Marshes are frozen.
To reach outdoors editor Brent Frazee, call 816-234-4319 or send email to bfrazee@kcstar.com.
Brent’s best bet
Despite the cold blast, fishermen at La Cygne Lake have spring fever. With hot water streaming into the lake from the power plant, the water temperature at the outlet is up to almost 60 degrees. That has the crappies, wipers, largemouth bass and blue catfish biting.
This story was originally published December 31, 2014 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Fishing and hunting report for Jan. 1."