MSUFisherBear

I was kind of afraid of that. I've heard (and read) some of those varying reports. And I know with this cool nights this week, it's probably changing FAST. Definitely won't hesitate to pick up the road runner though. Good intel!

Thanks for the tips, RPS! That will be a lot of ground to cover. Pumped to be able to fish that section of lake as I’ve almost never been there.

Completely missed that update/post... 😐 Thanks Hughesy!

Hey guys! I promised my father in law and brother in law a fishing trip as soon as I could and this weekend is shaping up to be our first good shot. They live closer to the upper end of the lake and so the plan is to try and fish that area. Of course, my hope is just to get them on some fish and have a blast (size is of no concern). I know things are changing pretty rapidly right now. Anyone have any best guesses for this weekend as far as a pattern? Thanks in advance!

Been a while since I've fished it, but here's what I remember... Fish can be found scattered through just about anywhere on the lake. The toughest stretch of water I ever found on that little lake was from the old boat ramp (under 65) up to the highway 60 bridge. I rarely caught fish in this area (which I think was just due to the overwhelming pressure from the bank and from kayak/canoes. Lower in the lake always seemed to be better. The "deepwater" fishing isn't all that deep (probably something to keep in mind). In a lot of spots, the deep water was no more than 8-10 feet, but because of how shallow some of the other areas are, it made it feel pretty darn deep. What I do remember from the lake was what structure they seemed to relate to. Bass seemed to relate well to two things - rocks and grass. I caught a few here and there off wood, but the two aforementioned seemed to be the ticket. Grass next to a deeper water drop (i.e. where the channel runs, seemed to hold more fish, especially if you could get some shade mixed in. The other thing about Springfield is the bait type. It's been mentioned on here before, I'm sure, but look for something different. Again - it's been years ago, but I'd throw some of the most unconventional finesse things on that lake. And early morning hours are hands down the best. Get there and on the water before dawn if you can.

Hi all! Man has it been a while for sure. It's had to been at least a few years since my last post (and sure something I never intended!) Life seems to get by you sometimes and it seems like every time I sat down to log in and write one of these, something new popped up. Life has definitely been good in the absence of posts. Started a new job, had the opportunity to add on and renovate our home, got my first boat and, got to welcome my first born to this world (who Dad can only hope will be his fishing buddy soon enough). And even with all the craziness that happens sometimes in this life, I've still got the opportunity to wet a line every once and a while. So... life's been good! So on to the trip report. This was trip #2 in the new boat (2003 Xpress X54 w/ 2016 Mercury 90HP). Both trips, I've spent at least a little time (safely and out of everyone's way 😁) learning a bit about how the boat handles and just getting used to it. Needless to say, it's been an absolute blast. I did take some time to fish yesterday. The goal yesterday (outside of learning the boat) was really to explore the area a little more in-depth than what I had been able to do in the kayak (especially with the use of electronics). We put in at Rockaway. With the generation, the surface temp was lower than the first trip out along the main lake (getting readings at about 62*). The previous trip, we spotted several bass cruising the hydrilla and moss mats along the bank just upstream from Rockaway. This time, I didn't see one. So theory #1 for bass on Taney is... There's a temp preference and that probably pushes them up or back (depending on generation amount). Next, we motored up to just below Bull Island. I wanted to see the water temps (approximately 9a at this point) along with trying to understand where some of the trees may be laying in the channel. Water temps were around 74* at this point. Decided I wanted to go up just a smidge further and idled to just beyond Bull Island and then dropped the trolling motor to fish the channel side of the bank. Water temp at this point was registering at around 76* - 77*. The first thing I immediately noticed was seeing fish (though small) along the shoreline. I also noticed schools of shad working the surface. I watched for a while and didn't see anything actively feeding on them (though there would be, on occasion, something stir them up). These were out on the sunny side of the bank and not something I felt like actively chasing around if I didn't see much in them 😅. So we stuck to the channel side. I started by throwing a mini-chatterbait w/ a Berkley grasspig trailer and my wife was throwing a Road Runner w/ a Lake Fork paddletail swimming minnow (1/16 oz/2.5" minnow). I almost immediately caught one short of a laydown after ticking the chatterbait off a limb (just enough to change directions). It was a pretty aggressive strike (so I thought we were in businesses) but that was about it for the chatterbait. I threw that for another 20 minutes or so with nary a sniff. Meanwhile, my wife is catching green sunnies with the Road Runner as fast she can take 'em off the hook and throw 'em back in (so they were definitely active). I decided to slow it down a bit and switch to dragging a Ned. That produced another short and a break off on what, I believe, was a pretty decent fish (3-4 lbs). I saw it turn but I guess the line had a knick and watched it break just about 20 feet from the boat or so. But after losing what felt like the 10th Ned rig in the rocks, I decided a I needed to find something I could do more fishing with and less time hung up. I picked up a trick worm (which I hadn't thrown in what felt like 10 years) and FINALLY found a pattern. In essence, if I could skip the worm under a tree or lay it just over a break in the rocks/boulders, I could get a strike. These were nothing to write home about (mostly 9-10" little bass) but they were fun none the less. I too got in on the green sunny game (as they were just taking off with it as soon as it would touch down). After about the 5th or 6th fish landed, my wife wanted to give it a whirl. I just handed her the spinning rod and let her go to town. At first, I was just trolling along watching her, but soon I decided I had to have something to throw, so I picked up the buzzbait I had loaded up that morning and decided to just start chucking and reeling (nothing in particular). I proceeded to throw across a laydown (at the time unbeknownst to me) and SMACK. I thought it was a decent little bass at first, but NO. It was a TOAD of a green sunfish (like had to be pushing a pound). By this point, the wind had picked up and surface temp had crept up to 80*. We were pooped and ready to get back to pick up little man from Grandma's. We stowed all the tackle, took another nice little boat ride and called it a day. So here's to hoping you all had a great holiday weekend and that you had some type of opportunity to do a little fishing.

Yes it certainly is. I went Sunday (sorry for not posting) and did OK. The biggest problem was fighting the wind (went head long paddling in to Bull Creek and then it switched directions on me and had to paddle headlong back). Water color was slightly dingy compared to what I would consider normal, but definitely a good color IMHO. I don't have a gauge, but surface temps coming out of Bull were probably in the low 70s, maybe low to mid 60's in the lower part of the confluence (just my guess, could be way off here). Definitely lots of new cover that's blown in and the grass is growing "well" for as dirty as the water had been. I wasn't the only 'yaker out. Some where trout fishing, others warm water. I was fishing warm water. Did OK on a craw bait (YUM version). Not much of a crankbait or spinnerbait bite, but I was out in the sunniest/hottest part of the day (and I'm sure it probably got a little better as the evening went on). The wind made it difficult to paddle/hold where I wanted and fish the crawbug like I wanted. Caught 6. All were in the 10 - 12" range. LOTS of bluegill popping that little crawbug. They would carry that sucker all over the place but I guess could never really get the hook in their mouth. Did lose one really nice fish halfway back to the kayak on the same thing. I saw a few people catching trout. Mostly looked to be stocker size. Some were pretty nice, though.

I'm hoping so, too. I love fishing water with a little bit of color typically but when those fish are accustom to that clear stuff they really seem to turn it off more than on. Here's to hoping that any rain we get over the next couple of weeks is light at most and we can start getting a little less water logged.

Depending on location - dingy to downright muddy. A lot of the pockets and backwaters are close to the chocolate milk color. The water in the main channel is dingy but not terrible. Lots of flow from that area obviously, so it shouldn't be long. We drove by the landing yesterday. Lots of clear water in that area. Should help to start pushing some of the other water out.

Thanks for the info guys. That had always been a curiosity of mine, especially during times that we aren't quite so water logged and don't see a constant generation pattern.Good to know I can check in one spot for both locales. Thanks again!

Yeah I didn't figure. Do you know if the water clears up pretty fast, or will it keep it's dinginess? It seems like I remember reading after 2015 that the water kind of kept a little bit of a turbidity (don't know if that's exactly the right term). Personally I like the little bit of extra color (choclate milk not so much) but I wasn't sure what my window of opportunity would be there. I'm guessing from all I've read that TR is probably going to maintain a decently high output for quite a while, even after the gates are shut back off. I guess that brings up another question... does anyone know if Empire keeps a generation schedule like the corps does? I assumed not since it's privately held, but it'd be nice to know (both for Taney and BS).

I might have missed this earlier, but is there any current concern for changing course on the amount of water release pending what happens tomorrow?

in hoping this next round of rain is a fast mover and spares us this time. I know an inch or two will still be enough to put us right back in a pickle. That being said, I've never really fished on Taney after a high water event and had some questions. 1) How long until the water starts clearing? I'm banking on this being a fairly fast process given the lakes dynamics. 2) How does this affect the warm water species? Do fish tend to move up lake? Down lake? Remain pretty stationary? 3) what will this do to the cover in the lake? I love fishing wood cover and had started to get some pretty good ideas on places, but my guess is given the lake bottom and typical lake currents from water release that this can change pretty drastically.

Well it may have finally crested. At 1200 elevation was 934.51 and was the same at 1300. http://www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/pages/data/tabular/htm/tabrock.htm.

I hate to take one side or the other There's always going to be second guessing. I'm guessing that several of these decisions are also compounded by other factors. I saw a map on the NWS showing where just north of the West Plains area a total of 10+" observed. I know the Current River around Van Buren recorded an all time high flood level as well as several others in the basin (not to mention the many that were in the moderate to severe flood categories). Clearwater Lake (Black River) was somewhat at a concern of cresting it's spillway. All of that water is heading south at the same time. I don't think anyone could have effectively mitigated the flooding that this storm was going to cause. I feel like, for the Corps, it was a "pick your poison" scenario. I know this is terrible for a lot of different people, but I just can't help but think the outcomes were going to be poor regardless of what was done.

Sorry to hear this Phil and praying for you and all those folks affected by this. This is gut wrenching to read and see. My wife and I came down earlier to try and help fill sand bags. It was really hard seeing and knowing how much this was going to impact all the folks who live and work along the lake. Praying that this subsides quickly and you all and everyone else can get back to normal.

Sorry for the delay in response. I saw your post the other day and had started to respond, got side tracked then haven't been back on. I, too, went Saturday from the kayak. I fished for a while out of a kayak in Swan. It was definitely a cold wind. I went for the same reason you did - looking for the whites. I never spotted one. I saw several different fish (bass, suckers, a couple of walleye) but never saw the whites. Well... I guess I did see one, but it was dead attached to a chain stringer laying on the bottom of the lake . I'm hoping to go again this weekend. I have to think that they were there at some point, but my guess is that it was one of the waves. Warmer days with a little more sun may help matters. I did catch a couple of small bass out at the mouth. Also saw a couple of interesting root wads that washed in that should be good once the water gets up higher!

You might go back and search through this forum from several years back. There's a lot of information on this. I can't say I've ever sight fished this lake, so I'm not much help there.

Yeah. Definitely can't complain. I'm just hoping that maybe we really have had an early spring (I'm knocking on wood now) and can count on the weather staying semi-nice. It's early... but next weekend is looking nice already.

Well friends... that was a bust. LOL! I had to run some errands in town before heading to the lake. Decided I wanted to set a line before the wind got howling so bad I couldn't fish. Fished in Turkey creek for a couple of hours. It was SLOW! I don't know exact temp, but water had to be low 50s (if that). Drug a bed rig for a bit and caught a couple of dinks (both about 6"). Green pumpkin and I was pretty much just dead sticking when they hit. This past Christmas I got a Road Runner mold and today was the first time I got a chance to use them. Got a couple of bumps on that. I wasn't fishing to hard because by that point it seemed like the wind was already blowing 20 mph or so. The good news was the blades seemed to turn well and they ran good. Im hoping next weekend is just as pretty but slightly less windy. Already ready for another trip.

Well... I hadn't said it yet because it always seems to jinx me when I do but... we're just about 24 hours from the weekend and about 36 from my first trip of the year and I'm about as excited as a 5 year old on Christmas. I've been itching to get out for a while now but it seems that every weekend that I've had something has been going on. This weekend looks surprisingly clear and I'm gunning for a trip Saturday. So... the point of the post... any body been out lately fishing for the bucketmouths and of so, anything seem to be working? The plan is to fish the Rockaway area. I'll try to post back here as soon as I get back on how the day went.

The cold front that rolled in today got me to wishing it a) hadn't happened right before the weekend and 2) thinking about tackling cold fronts for crappie as spring rolls in. That got me to thinking about jig modifications and what to do to possibly entice one of those sluggish paper mouths to strike a jig. Alas, we come to the topic. I've toyed around with crappie nibbles in the past for this vary reason. I use a baby medicine syringe and inject them in the business end of a tube. Sometimes they seem to make a difference and sometimes not. I was wondering if anyone has had success with those in the past and what other ways you may have used them. I also have wonder about the Johnson fish scale attractant (if anyone has used it/had success). Is the stuff able to be injected like I do with the nibbles? Do you just smear it on? Does it work or is it just a gimmick?

Gavin beat me to the punch. It's also been a while since I've fished Lake Springfield, but the Boat House used to rent Kayaks/Canoes during the Spring/Summer/Fall months. Before I bought my kayaks or the canoe, I was relegated to bank fishing. For the most part, it was pretty tough. In the summer months I would wet wade on the upper James and on the Finley. Both had decent pools of water, but you have to be careful, there's some deep holes. The Springfield Lakes (Lake Springfield, Fellows, McDaniel) are tough going from the bank for the species you mentioned. If you don't have the disposable income, I'd start looking at some skinny water. Lots of fish that get overlooked in those locales.

If it's the same type, my wife and I rode on one of these in Myrtle Beach just to see what it was like. Vastly different from riding in a fishing or bass boat, for sure. The thing could move - and in a hurry. Definitely torn on this one. I don't know what the effect would be to things like fishing, boat traffic, etc. and it's obviously got some inherent dangers with the type of lake Taney is and the type of traffic it typically has (drifters, anchored boats, yaks and canoes, etc.). On the flip side, it's definitely another family friendly (I would assume) attraction for the area which help to bring in more $$$ and people, which always helps our local economy. I read something earlier about some possible other attractions coming to town (some at the landing and one where the old water chutes where). Maybe this has some tie in with that? It's gotta make you wonder what the insurance and operating costs on an operation like that costs. If you are in any co-occupied waters, you obviously share a risk both with the riders and with other people occupying said body of water.

Went yesterday for all of about 1.5 hours. KY3 said that showers were supposed to up some by noon, but they didn't... It was a steady, cold rain the entire time although wind wasn't too bad. I didn't check the generation forecast before going and the water was off, too (which seems to always spell bad news for me when I go). Beyond that, though... there were some positives! First - I saw a lot of action out on the main channels of both the lake and Bull Creek. Fish were chasing shad (lots of swirls with minnows jumping). I only caught one by casting in to the swirls (about a 10" bass), so I'm guessing that's what they were, but couldn't get anything else going on those. The schools weren't large schools of shad and were broken up over a wide area. I have a feeling that if I could have gotten some sun going with the shad working shallower flats I could have been in business. Hopefully someone might get a chance to get out on the water on a sunnier day and try it out. I caught about 6 total. One on a shad rap (the one out of the swirl; silver with blue back) and 5 on the Ned Rig (green pumpkin). All were short (longest was about 12"). They were much more lethargic than the last trip out. My guess would be the weather swings, but I found much better luck by slowing it much further down.