MSUFisherBear

Went out this morning for a very quick trip. Launched the Yak at the Landing/Campground ramp. Started looking for some trout today. Used Powerbait floating eggs (orange/white and chart/white combos) without success. Paddled up one of the creeks to have a look around and noticed some keeper sized bluegill chasing in the water. Switched out one of the spinning rods to a tube jig under a float set up and the first cast... caught about a 10" rainbow (who would have thunk it). Kept going up the creek and found some keeper bluegill. Switched to a Rebel Wee-R Firetiger crank bait hoping to hook up with a couple of dinner plate bluegill and fished coming back out of the creek and found a trove of little largemouth. I probably caught 10 in the span of about 20 minutes, fishing mainly downed trees/limbs. They were very aggressive in chasing (I had a couple that knocked the crankbait side ways as soon as it hit the water). Had to get back to the house, so I packed it up and headed home but they were still biting good when I left. Saw lots of boats cruising up and down the lake. Also saw a couple of boats doing well drifting the main portion of the channel. Not sure exactly what they were doing, but looked like they had caught a few nice rainbows.

All of 1" yesterday at the house when I dumped the gauge before bed. Haven't been home to check the gauge yet today, but I haven't seen anything slide by on radar yet so I'm suspicious if we even have any, so I'm guessing not much down towards the lake either. NOAA's graphicast is still saying up to 2" there in town: http://www.weather.gov/crh/weatherstory?sid=sgf#.VuCI19rnZWc I don't know about you guys, but the ground at our house soaked that rain up like a sponge yesterday. I've been working on our garden already and most of the top soil was fairly dry this morning when I left. We needed that soaker yesterday, and if it doesn't come in buckets, I don't see much in the way of run off coming from this event. Could be wrong. The peep frogs sure enjoyed it yesterday evening though.

Got to love those roadrunners. One of my favorites for about any species. It was cool to see Ashley using that modified one in the classic last year. I've always enjoyed throwing the 1/16 oz. and 1/8 oz. version with about any panfish grub or soft plastic you can think of. I and a lot of family and friends have boated just about every type of species you can think of on those things and they almost always produce for me when nothing else will.

Good advice on both. I'll give it a shot and see what I can come up with. Like I was saying before, it's a pretty new ball game to me as my extent of trout fishing trips could probably about be counted on 1 hand. Not that fishing for the warm water varieties don't offer up some unique challenges; I just wanted to give something new a whirl and with the quality and quantity of fish in Taneycomo it's been all the more enticing.

Gator, Thanks for the tip! That's a lot cheaper than buying a whole new outfit and I can switch back and forth if I decide to look for some crappie.

Looking for some feedback here from the experts. It has been a while since I've really done much trout fishing, but recently the wife and I moved closer to Taney and so I expect more frequent trips. Most of my set ups are for the warmer water varieties. I got a fly rod last year which is something that I really want to get in to around the dam area, but I'm also looking for a pretty good set up for fishing with salmon eggs or dough bait in the middle to lower ends of the lake. Any favorites that come to mind in this regard? I know I'm looking at something with a light to ultra light spinning set up and somewhere between 2 lb and 4 lb test for the line. I've got a set up that has a 6' medium action rod (graphite) with a Pflueger Supreme reel spooled with 6 pound line that I use primarily for crappie fishing, but I'm thinking I need to go lighter for better success rates. Any recommendations from those more experienced? Thanks for the help!

Went out today in the Yak. Fished primairly for trout. Used Berkeley Powerbait eggs with the old egg sinker/split shot set up. Using 1 Orange and 1 white as suggested. Started the trip at Rockaway and paddled up past the mouth of Bull. First cast produced a keeper bow. Then set in the dry spell. Fished for about 3 hours. Tried moving up and down the bank with no luck. Not even a bump. Decided to pack up the Yak and run down to powersite.Again, first cast produces a keeper then nothing. The one at powersite was real interesting though. Still fishing with the eggs. Started to retrieve from my cast and, wham, the bow hit it as I was retrieving. First time that's happened to me. Thought I'd be wise at that point and tie on a Rebel Craw. Worked it with a fairly slow retrieve but no go. Still a good day to be out on the water and thankful for this beautiful weather we've been blessed with. Hope you all had tight lines too.

Went out today in the Yak. Fished primairly for trout. Used Berkeley Powerbait eggs with the old egg sinker/split shot set up. Using 1 Orange and 1 white as suggested. Started the trip at Rockaway and paddled up past the mouth of Bull. First cast produced a keeper bow. Then set in the dry spell. Fished for about 3 hours. Tried moving up and down the bank with no luck. Not even a bump. Decided to pack up the Yak and run down to powersite.Again, first cast produces a keeper then nothing. The one at powersite was real interesting though. Still fishing with the eggs. Started to retrieve from my cast and, wham, the bow hit it as I was retrieving. First time that's happened to me. Thought I'd be wise at that point and tie on a Rebel Craw. Worked it with a fairly slow retrieve but no go. Still a good day to be out on the water and thankful for this beautiful weather we've been blessed with. Hope you all had tight lines too.

Thanks sir! I'd try Sunday, but much smaller window on that day after church unfortunately. Maybe sometime soon we can get together. Sure would be a blast. Thanks for the info! Not asking specifics on baits, but anything that you've had better success on (such as spinnerbaits, jigs, etc.)?

Well, the plan is to head out tomorrow morning. Thinking of starting off tightlining for some trout at some point as well so I'll post a report once I get back. Thanks for the info!

Tho1mas... Still getting used to Taney. Is Bull island the first island going up river from the mouth? I will say this much... For anyone who likes carp angling, there were some absolute cows working the big flat there at the mouth. Never been one to really target them but I couldn't help thinking how much fun snagging one in the Yak would be. Would definitely make for a fun ride!

hollybob - Nice to know I'm not the only one. I had started to post an update of my recent trip this past Saturday around that area. Was looking for crappie and/or whites but didn't run in to much of either. That was the first time I had been out on Taneycomo in search of bass/crappie/whites since I was a kid on a vacation. Was in the kayak working a number of things. For whites I was throwing a shad rap and modified Strike King mini king spinner bait. I put a decent sized willow blade on on those and use them in clearer water with a lot of success for various species, especially whites. I was swimming the mini king as slow as possible and using the shad rap like a stick bait. I'd twitch, pause for several seconds, then go proceed again until I had completed the retrieve. Nothing on either. I did have a couple of smaller bass (looked to be LM) turn and follow in clearer water but not much success in getting a bite. Turned my attention to the crappie without much success either. No crappie, and a couple of dink bass. Was throwing a road runner. Started with a curly tail trailer and then switched over to a Lake Fork swimming minnow with the paddle tail. Again, two that have produced for me in the past but didn't today. Not sure if it was the lake or conditions. Did run in to a couple of other guys in the area while out paddling around but, according to what they were telling me, it was pretty slow for them as well. I think I'm going to give it another shot this weekend and possibly run over to Swan creek and give it a shot as well. I'll try and post a report if I get over that way.

Long time no post, but here before too much longer the shad will start working the flats on the lake. I've seen people use cast nets for them. Personally I like a minnow trap as it keeps the size down a bit (I like using them to fish for crappie and bluegill). The lake does get hit pretty hard, but it's like anywhere else. you just have to know how to change it up enough so that the fish aren't seeing the same bait thrown at them all the time (and I do see it a lot on Springfield). Hope you get the shad you are after.

I'd be game if it was CPR as well. I've kicked around the idea of having a "braggin rights" type event. I think it would be a blast. Plus, it'd give me the chance to see some of the other pretty fish on this lake

Stopped by the Lindenlure Dam yesterday evening on the way back from doing some final touches on the deer hunting spot. I caught one fat little largemouth at the first bend down on a grub and lost another smaller smallmouth on the next hole down. I noticed a couple of things while I was out... 1) Of course, the water looked average to a little low for this time of year. I suppose chalk that up to the extended dry period. I thought with all the showers that we had this week it would look a little higher and have a little more color, but the water was crystal clear. I hadn't been to this little stretch in a bout a year, so I have no idea what had filled in and what is just really that low. 2) There has been some new logs that have washed in to the first shoal down from the bridge. I know a lot have probably already floated this stretch, but just as a fair warning if you are going down, that first shoal looks like a dozy to try to take yourself. With enough water, you can probably clear the log, but it's a decent drop on the other side (6" or so). If I was floating I think I would have the tendancy to try to skim the shallow portion of the shoal and stay away from those jams.

Just wanted to give a report of the morning/afternoon action on Lake Springfield Sunday. Sorry for the delay. Had lots of errands yesterday to run so didn't have time to sit down in front of the computer for a write up. Fishing was definitely very good. I started the day fishing for bass. I ended up catching 10 total, with the first 6 coming very quickly. I was using a punch bait with a pegged weight. The bass were very active. Every one that I hooked up with had the hook in the top of their mouth. Largest was 14 inches, smallest was 10. After having fun with the bass for a while, I decided it was time to switch up and look for fish for the freezer. I started fishing for crappie. The last time I was out, I found them on a channel break fishing with a small panfish swimbait. I started fishing in the same spot. Never caught one, but I did witness some type of fish driving shad into the flat on the other side and feeding on them. I switched over to try and catch a few, but never could get a bite. I couldn't see the fish to know for sure, but I have a feeling it was a school of small bass judging by the size of the shad that I could see breaking the surface. I moved on from the channel break, still looking for crappie. I started fishing a small brush pile that looked to have recently washed in. I cast in and within 10 seconds of my jig hitting the water I had a fish on. I thought, based on how hard the fish fought, that it was a decent little bass. When I pulled the fish in, it was a big green sunfish (I didn't weigh it, but I would guess somewere between 14 oz and 1lb). I threw back in and caught a second. I worked the entire area and caught 13 of those total. Normally I don't keep the greenies, but I did this time just because of their sheer size. It actually made a pretty good pile of fish. Just a note on these, I caught most in about 8-10 foot of water. The warm weather has definitely drove them off the bank.

I caught her on one of the channel breaks. I figured she was right on the edge of the channel. Congrats on the new boat though!

Decent day. Finally caught a crappie!!!! Weirdest spot ever too. No brush around, and I was really just goofing. Only one of the day too :-S. I haven't had a really good day for a while now. Guess I'm losing my touch lol!

Sounds like the nature center. You can either use the green ways trail from Southwood or get to the actual center from Republic road.

Amen! Thanks for the report!

For bluegill that is...

Well I went. I caught four bass. Switched over to catch a few for the freezer and caught a few big bluegills on Berkley Aive Worms. That stuff works great. Still haven't caught any big red ear this year though. Water is still pretty cold.

Same here... I'm just throwing this out there. Out of the catfish, bluegill, and red-ear that I have cleaned out of the various bodies of water in SWMO, Springfield fish are just as clean as any other. I think people are scared from the power plant. The lake stays dingy most of the year, but a LOT of that has to do with a) bottom composition, the constant churning of water from the pumps at the power plant, and c) the warmer temperatures holding sedimate on the lower end of the lake nearly year round. What I will say is that, of the fish that I have caught from this lake, I have yet to find a parasite or hints of a disease. Fact of the matter is that these fish tend to look a lot more healthy than some of the ones I have caught out of similar sized lakes elsewhere. Oh well... Leave more of those out there to catch

I'm going to head out early Saturday. If I happen to see ya, I'll holler. Ill be in a red 9' kayak. I'm probably going to be fishing around the bluff, but I am looking for some of the big ole red-ear I've been catching lately. Also, I've been doing really well my last couple of times out with a Senko with a light jig head to make it fall a little faster. I think as the water keeps warming up, and the fish keep moving off bed, there definetely getting more active. They've been hitting a lot harder. Which means top water really oughtta start getting good!

Amen, But I was thinking about this the other day. Does the Parks board/MDC have a designated clean up day? It'd be pretty cool if they had a day like that (kind of like the street clean days for the adopt-a-street). We had a stream team in high school and it was always a blast cleaning up the rivers.