JohnF52

In the last few years I have come to dread holiday weekends. It's better to just stay at home. Don't even care if it rains a cold rain the entire time.

The dock operator at Lake Fayetteville told me yesterday that the bad weather this spring had ruined fishing there. No one was catching fish according to her. I went to Wedington last week and could not even catch a bream. Used worms and slip bobber set variously at depths from four to nine feet at several different parts of that lake. We also threw some small jigs and no bites on them either. Have towel, ready to throw in! Sorry that I cannot give better news.

I have the same problem with my 2-stroke Evinrude. Doesn't stutter, just smokes until I cannot stand it. It likes to run at 2500 RPM and over. Had to troll into the wind. That is one reason I got a 9.9 hp 4 stroke.

Where is Moonshine Beach? I will avoid it.

At Wedington yesterday evening, a couple tied up the ramp for almost 15 minutes loading and tying down two approx 50 pound kayaks onto their SUV at the end of the ramp. They could have easily carried them 75 feet to the parking lot where there was plenty of room. They could see I was waiting to load my boat. Wonder what would happen if they did that at Hickory Creek on a busy evening?

See the early 2006 historical images on Google Earth. I think that is what was posted. The lake level was around 1105. In the upper end you can see the river channel above Blue Springs.

Fished Wedington again today. Surface temp read 76 degrees. Could not even catch a bream. I think I am done with that little lake for a while at least. It is full of water weeds in the shallows, so thick that it is hard to fish.

If it keeps up these torrential rains, it is 2011 all over again, with level of 1132. I hope it doesn't. The fishing is poor enough already. I haven't caught a single keeper all spring. Ready to just give up!

I don't have sidescan. I have down imaging, but don't really know how to use it.

Is the river end south of Blue Springs likely to clear up this week? I would like to get on some crappie, and don't much like the big end in my small boat.

Many years ago some friends of ours caught 10 bass in less than an hour that weighed a combined 69 pounds. I believe it was in the Vanwinkle Hollow area. Lake was about 6 years old then. There was tremendous growth in fish when the lake was first filling, I assume from all the land being covered for the first time. Never heard of such a haul since.

Last week when I was out there between Beavorama and Walker's Bluff, there were large rafts of dead grass floating in the water. They are hard to see, so I went pretty slow. The channel changes sides from east side to center to just along the east side of the island above Neill's Bluff, although now it is so high you can safely run west of that island. The channel was fairly obvious at that time above that area, although there were some stick ups not far from the banks that now would be barely underwater. Water was fairly clear at the time, but that was before the last rain. Should clear up again by mid week.

Does anyone on here know if it's muddy near 412 bridge? I want to catch some crappie.

In some lakes spots are a nuisance, stunted and overpopulated. I am for no limits on them, and no limits on usage (good cafish baits). Drastically decrease their numbers.

They are stunted in the clear COE reservoirs. Overpopulation of small bass and not enough forage. Need to stock a bunch of Flathead Catfish and have high limits on 9 to 12 inch spotted bass.

Most of the rain fell in the Illinois watershed. Clear Creek flows into the Illinois. We got enough on the White River side for an additional 2 foot rise or thereabouts on Beaver. That would be about 1124. Bet they will be generating a lot unless Table Rock gets a huge rise. If Table Rock gets a large rise, Beaver will be held until it reaches 1129.

I wish they had done the dam back in the 1960s so we could have another nice COE lake To boat and fish on. Then the hog farm wouldn't be happening because it might be underwater. Newton county would have had a real estate boom too. Guess the COE is totally out of the dam building business. That was another era.

Haven't been boating on a weekend for a few years. Those days are used to get things done at home. I am working two to three days a week, and go fishing on the off days. I don't want to deal with crowds. Last summer the PC ramp parking lot would only have a handful of vehicles on Mondays.

Richland Creek was super muddy today. It looked the color of runoff from a clay road. I think the white at Twin Bridges will clear a lot by about Tuesday. One guy told me today the whites have run way up past there, and have not spawned yet due to cold water. We have the threat of another freeze (28 degrees) in 5 days according to Accuweather, after another very cold rain. The white bass may run until May 15, who knows? The cold snaps are supposed to keep coming until it naturally warms up in Canada, and breaks the cycle. That might be early July?

I can see 1124 possible now, which will make the ramp and parking at Beavorama unusable. It's good there from 1118 to 1122.

Looked at river late this morning at Twin Bridges. It's high, muddy, and full of sticks, limbs, bottles, trash. Several people fishing, boats coming and going, but very few fish today. Conditions a few miles down are much better. Lake is on the rise up into the weeds and grass, but the water is much cleaner looking at Beavorama and Pin Hook Bend. Hope no more rain for several days. This last rain should make it hit 1121 or more.

After this rain, you should be able to make it all the way to Twin Bridges if you run carefully, but at a slow speed it takes a fairly long time. Neill's Bluff is never a problem to get to, unless the lake is super low. As I write this, the level is only seven inches below full power pool of 1120.4 feet, and rising. Neill's Bluff, btw, is the bluff on the west side at the next sharp (150 degree) bend past the last dock on the left which is at Beavorama. The channel is along the west side past Neill's Bluff, then crosses in the wide spot over to the east side. I bought a 9.9 hp to temporarily put on my Xpress 1650 VJ to run small waters, because it makes the draft higher, and has a shallow water drive feature. If I get up there enough this spring, I might map some of the features. But, in severe floods, especially if the floods happen when the lake is low prior, the river course can change a bit, and big logs, old snags, etc can be swept away, and new ones deposited, but mostly the channel course is much the same as it was 40 plus years ago.

You can run nearly to twin bridges now, but you have to watch it. The channel is not obvious in several places above Neals Bluff. It mIght look like you are in the channel, but might be in less than two feet of water. Lots of logs near the banks and around old channels too, so go slow above Neal's Bluff and watch your depth finder. Don't know if the whites are farther up than you can run, but that is possible. It's tricky putting in at twin bridges because the ramp drops straight off at the end. Unless the river is high you could get your trailer hung up trying to pull your boat out unless you have tall trailer wheels that can roll over the drop. The ramp at Beavorama is easily usable now as the level exceeds 1119 ft.

Yes, there are decent crappie in Wedington. There is now a $5 launch fee that the USACE pass doesn't work for. They never charged to launch there until recently.

I fished Wedington today. Crappie bite was slow. Water clear, temp right at 60 deg. It has been a cold spring.