jimithyashford

I went wade fishing on the James on Sunday for about 3 hours. I got in the water where Ward Creek flows into the James just upstream from Rivercut, and waded down to the Rivercutparking lot. I was using crayfish in eddies and along structures for most of the trip. I used a yellow weighted jig a little and a small spinner bait a little. The Crayfish got one really heavy strike early on, but didn't get hook set, and after that got no more action. After getting tired of the crayfish I switched to my spinner, got a few small sunfish on the spinner. Then when I lost my spinner to some deep snag I switced to a yellow jig and got one smallie a little longer than my hand off of the jig. So I guess I wasn't really "skunked" but I only caught babies. I have yet to figure out what works to catch a sizable fish off of the James. I continue my quest.

How on earth are you folks doing this? I have sunk at least a dozen hours into Creighton and only every caught a singe "keeper". I have been fishing it pretty heavily with crawfish since it was suggested to me that Crawfish work well on the James, and havn't gotten anything. I've fished pretty regularly from the bridge all the way up to the wide wide hole near the water intake. I've cause a handful of small aggressive sunfish and a few baby smallies. So it absolutely blows my mind to hear of a person pulling 20 or more fish out of there in one trip. You say you caught them on red white and yellow jigs. Jig? Can you be more specific, what kind of jigs? How did you retrieve them? I am just looking for any information I can get.

Oh and I havn't seen a Bass longer than my hand in about 3 years, so a 12-15 incher would seem like an absolute lunker to me. 2-3 of those out of one fishing trip and I would be elated.

So with the crawfish tactic, I want to try it agian cause you guys seems so sure of it that I think it's bizzare I didn't catch anything off of it. So lemme clarify a few things. So I get a crawfish maybe about the length of my thumb. I hook him through the tail with the hook facing backwards (as in away from his front) and with a hook big enough to get some good clearance over the carapace. I put a couple of split shots 3-4 inches up from the hook, not enough to totally weigh him down but enough to keep him from darting off, and I cast him into the eddies or next to structure. I let him sink and kick around for maybe a 30 seconds or so, and then reel him in a bit , sit for another 30, reel a bit more, and do that until I am either out of the eddy or away from the structure. Is that about right? That is exactly to a T what I was doing for about 2 hours across 4 sets of eddys and I didn't even get a bite. Question though? Aren't most Ozark streams so completely full of crayfish that the odds are slim they would go after yours? Wouldn't it be better to suspend the crayfish under a bobber to keep it up in open water where it would stand out? Or would putting it where it wouldn't normally be acutally divert attention cause the Bass wouldn't be looking there?

Like what section of river? I understand Creighton is probably fairly over fished. If you can advise me on a section of river I'll hit it! Or any other creek/rivers in the area. I figure that Pearson and Wilson creeks might be big enough in some areas to fish, also I've never fished the Sac or the Finley. I know that sometimes you can find suprisingly good bluegill in the wide and deep spots on small often over-looked creeks.

Well I am certainly willing to learn and improve and be patient. And I doubt I will give up on it because I very much like wading in rivers and exploring anyway. So I am going to outline exactly what I did, and what habits I had, and what gear I had, and see if anything stands out to you experianced anglers. I got in the water at about 6-6:30. I had a small tackle box in my pocket with some spare split shots, extra hooks, and few little jigs. I had an ultralight rod with 4lb clear line on it. I waded upstream on the shallow side of the river, until I got to an eddy below a riffle. I hooked my little 2 inch crayfish through the tail and cast him across the eddy from the side. I let him sit for about 30 seconds, reeled him in a few clicks, let him sit for about 30 seconds, reeled him in a few clicks, and did that until he was across the eddy and out on the side nearest to me. I tried this a few times from way below the riffle where the eddy faded out, up to being basically in the riffle, and then with no bites moved on to the next. When the crayfish stopped kicking and moving, I would swap him out for another. A few times I stood in the riffle and cast downstream into the eddy, retrieveing back towards the top of the riffle. Also a few cover/structure spots looked too tempting to pass up so I cast the crayfish over there and just let it sit for maybe 2 minutes before retrieveing. I also tried to vary between the dark crayfish and the lighter colored ones. When I switched the the small jig I was on my return trip back downstream, and I would stand in the river above riffles or deep faster currents and cast downstream paralell to those currents, and retrieve upstream along them. I got my two small bass that way. Mean while I had a fat crayfish tail on a limb line hanging into deep slow water waiting the whole time I was out, and it seemed a little picked at when I got back, but I figure that was probably just other crayfish picking at it. I was hoping it would catch a cat, but it did not. As far as distance of cast? I can cast the full width of the river in most places, depending on the weight of the lure. There are a few spots where it's too wide to quite cast all the way across. I never feel like I can't get to a spot.

Also I left a limb line with crawfish tails on it for catfish which still had the bait on it when I got back. So no luck with cats.

So, I fished from about 6:30 until it got dark using the methods mentioned in this post. I got in the water at the upper end of crieghton and waded upstream to the large wide deep spot where the intake building is. I fished with a crawdad in the eddies during the walk upstream and got no bites at all. I changed te crawfish out a few times when they stopped kicking. On the wade back I switched to a small spinner and caught 4 small sunfish 1 smallie a little bigger than finger sized, and one rock bass a little shorter than my hand. So, while it was nice to actually catch 6 fish over the course of about 2 hourss, they were all teeny tiny. Two of the sunfish were so small I almost considered hooking them an casting them back out as bait. I guess that means I have the right technique but there just weren't any big fish to be caught?

Big Brown Trout: So as you probably figured, I don't have a boat. So for me a fishing "trip" consists of heading out to fish 2 or 3 spots in very close proximity to each other. I have been told by people on other threads that if you are fishing a spot for 20-30 minutes without a bite, then the fish probably aren't there, and you are better off moving on then sinking hours in water with no action. That is the reason for my short trips. If I fish a hole for about half an hour and get no bites, I move on. Usually I hit two or three likley spots near each other, and that equals out to be about an hour an a half or so. Occasionally I'll drive out to whole other area to fish if I am still energetic despite the skunk, but I am counting that as a seperate "trip". I hope that makes sense. So I don't know whether you're advice is to be more patient and put more time in a piece of water before you move on, or that you are assuming a "trip" consists of packing up and moving to a different streatch of water if nothing is happening.

So, I will be stuck fishing on the James near to town for at least the next two weeks. So I have been advised to try crawfish and minnows and to try fishing in the eddies just below riffles and also near cover/structure. I have actually been fishing the heck out of cover and structure using jigs with no luck, but I havn't tried live bait and I havn't tried eddies below riffles.I think I will try getting in the water at Crieghton and wading upstream for several sets of holes and riffles. If I plop a crawfish and/or minnow in each eddy and do a couple casts along any cover I find, is the consensus that I would be very bizarre if that didn't net me at least a few decent fish?

To those who offered practical advice on techiques and locations to help catch fish. Thanks a lot, I will try those things.

I will have to try that after work today. Sounds like it's worth a shot, and it is something I have not tried. So, is the goal the put the crawfish right down on the bottom with a hevy enough sinker to keep him there against the current? Or are you meaning to retrieve him? Or are you meaning to bobber him and have him suspended and floating along with the eddy?

I have had many people sugest Taneycomo. Unfortunately I had the gas for only one roadtrip fishing expedition this paycheck and I spent it on Stockton. So Taney will have to wait 2 weeks. A few questions about Taney. Taney is primarily a Trout lake right? That's fine, I like Trout, but all of my gear is pan fishing, catfishing, and bass fishing gear. Do I need to go invest in a fly rod and learn to use it, or can you trout fish via non-fly methods? Or is fishing for other species on Taney pretty good too? I have had enough people recomend taney that I think my next trip will have to be there, It would be a massive relief to just catch a dang fish! I will occasionally see people walking along docks at Stockton with stringers full or crappie or catfish and I just have no idea how they do it, when I can spend a whole season trying to pull just a few fish out of the same water. I guess these people all have boats, but isn't most boat fishing done by pulling your boat close to shore and casting? In other words, doesn't a boat just get you to places you COULD shore fish from faster and easier? In theory shouldn't you be able to get at the same fish from the bank?

Since I joined this site I have gone fishing 3 times using advice I got from here. I got in James River at the East Sunshine bridge and waded south fishing in the pockets and pools as I went using a couple of different bass lures. I also got in the water at the Creghton access as waded upstream until I got to the first set of riffles and fished both a bobber with minnow and jigs around that pool and I did get one smallie about the size of my finger. I did both wade-fishing trips in direct response to fishing reports I saw on here. And lastly I went to Stockton and Catfished for about 6 hours using night crawlers as bait. I fished a long muddy sloping area near cedar point and also near the bridge at aldritch. No bites of any kind. So, those are my three attempts trying to follow the adivce of you most helpful and fine people, but to no avail.

So, I havn't caught a fish all summer. Well that's not true, I have caught a few very small perch, and maybe 4 or 5 little finger sized smallies, not any longer than my hand. I havn't caugt a "keeper" of any type. I've been out fishing maybe a 10 times so far this summer. Average time with lure/bait in the water per trip is probably about 1-1.25 hours. I almost always fish with two rigs at once, one set to passivly fish eitiher with a bobber for panfish and crappie or a sinker for catfish, while the other rod is used to actively fish for bass. I just havn't caught anything at all. Which is getting mighty frusterating. I've only been fishing for a few summers. Last summer I did pretty poorly as well. I caught two decent sized smallies and one catfish. So I am at a bit of a loss as to this whole fishing thing, and why I just cannot seem to catch any fish. I posted in another forum asking about a good place to take a family member to have them catch some fish and enjoy themselves. And one peice of advice was that fishing doesn't neccesarily involve much catching, and that if my family member isn't really into fishing we'd be better off just going bowling. It occured to me at that point that maybe my expecations are just off? Maybe my preformance is actually pretty average and even experianced anglers just don't really catch that many fish. SO! How do you define "good" fishing? How many trips in a row of getting skunked or only catching little sunfish, would you consider to be within the normal range? Should your normal expectation when you head out to assume that you will get skunked and then just be pleased on the rare occasion that you're not?

We ended up going to stockton to try catfishing. We were there from 7pm to mightnight, tried two different spots. Had a minimum of three rods in the water at all times, often up to 7 rods in the water, with nightcrawlers, cast out at all different depths and distances from the shore. Not even a bite all night. Utterly skunked.Luckily we brought beer and weenies to roast and drink around the fire, so it was still fun, but the fishing failed hard.

I was out from 7pm to midnight last Friday. I had no fewer than 3 rods in the water continusouly with nightcrawlers trying to catch catfish. I tried two different spots. I didn't even get a bite. Quite frustrating.

I used to fish from the Mutton Creek fishing Dock, and it was awesome, especially at night since it was lit and the drew in the crappie. However since they closed it I have not caught any fish in Stockton. I've bass fished around the steep rocks on either side of the bridge that is just past Mutton Creek. I've also found some long sloping beaches and cast catfish bait out off those points and let it sit for hours. I've also tried to cast crappie bait under a bobber out around bridge struts or rocky over hangs trying to get crappie. And I've not even had a bite in either of the two trips I've made this year. Stockton is a long way to drive to keep getting skunked. So I would like to know if anyone can point me to some good spots for bank fishing.

I have family comming into town this weekend and they really want to give fishing a try. I REALLY don't wanna drag them all out somewhere just to get skunked. I don't care about species or size, I just want to find a nice place where I can plop my family down and have them experiance some fairly consistant catch and release action for a few hours. What I don't want is hyper kids and annoyed grownups when nobody has even had a nibble for an hour, which I what I'm afraid of in the Springfield area lakes. I hear Taneycomo is best for Trout fishing, but I don't wanna buy everyone an extra Trout permit, and also I don't have any trout gear. Is there any place around Taneycomo that you can recomend to me where we can get on some crappie or bluegill or smallies and have a good time?

I have some family visiting and they really want to fish this Sunday. They know I like to fish cause I talk about it, what I don't talk about is that I never catch anything. So I am calling on you fine knowledgeable people. We are going to do catch and release, so I need to know where I can find a "sure thing" or at least as close as it gets in fishing. A nice spot where I may not catch a bunch of keepers, but where someone can take 3-5 family members and be pretty certain to at least have a few entertaining hours catching some fish and making some memories. Species doesn't matter, they just wanna give this whole fishing thing a try. What I don't want to do is drag old folks and kids out to some river bank and spend a hot sweaty afternoon covered in worm guts surrounded by family annoyed at the fact that nobody's pulled a fish out of the water. Does anyone know of any body of water within half on hour or so of Springfield that offers a fairly high chance of catching some fish?

So I got in the water at the bridge on east sunshine and waded south for maybe 3 or 4 holes, dropping lures in anything that looked deep enough to be likely. There were plenty of spots with a fallen tree next to a deep sunny pool, or a long deep flat spot next to a steep bank, that kinda stuff. I cast a bobber with a small hook and a small plastic out by the fallen trees, and used a little jig with a spoon on it for bass. And lemme tell you, I didn't get a single bite. I am going to figure out where these danged fish live! But this weekend I got skunked.

I was out there for about an hour yesterday, one small rig with a worm hanging over the side of the dock to catch panfish, while bass fishing with the other. Caught a number of small bluegill, and one almost comically tiny smallie. He was "punching above his weight" so to speak, the lure he tried to eat was a third his own size. I've seen lots of people out there fishing, and lots of people walking away with empty stringers. I would suspect it's massively over fished. Has anyone caught anything decent out of there?

So I've been told that Catfishing is not like other kinds of fishing. You can't just keep moving around and hunting for the fish, you have to get your bait in the water and let it sit, let the scent disperse, and wait for the Catfish to come to you. I have no idea how long I'm supposed to wait. I think about the longest I've sat with a stinky bait in the water is maybe 2 hours before getting bored and reeling in. How long do you usually let it sit before you conclude you just aren't in the right spot and move on?

Seems like a lot of good tips here. I think I know the basics of fishing technique, and what kinds of spots different species prefer, and what kind of lures/baits to try to pull them out on. My assumption has always been that I am just stuck bank fishing in an over-fished area, but maybe I am doing something wrong. Here is what I know, please tell me if I am mistake: Catfish- Stinky Baits of all kinds, put it on a strong hook with a sinker about a foot up, cast it way out either into the deeper slower portions of rivers, or into the long shallow sloaping areas of lakes, then just let it sit. Bass- Use movement lures, either with a little spinner or without. Fish along the deep water at the edges of bluffs or steep banks. Try retrieving at different depths to find the fish. Crappie- Live minnows are best, but when hungry they will bite anything shiny. Fish near trees or other similar fish attracting structures, set your bobber for different depths until you find them Panfish- Find a school and them and it doesn't matter, a bare hook will get a bite. Note-These are the only things I can reliably catch, but hardly ever big enough to keep. So, are my basic fish assumptions good? If they are then maybe I just do need to be more mobile. The James is pretty shallow, so I could probably effectively wade-fish it a long way. I am working on getting a kayak, which seems like the perfect fishing vessel since it is so portable and able to navigate practially any water from a deep lake to 4-in deep shallows.

I have had terrible luck fishing, so I figured maybe joining a group of knowledgable people would be a good thing. A little about my fishing history: I have fished a variety of baits and methods around Springfield, spending many many hours with lines in the water at the Crieghton Fishing Access, Lake Springfield both at the warm water and below the dam, Fellows lake around the handicap dock, McDaniel lake off the bridge, James River under the bridge on South Campell, and James River where the old bridge cross next to the Nature Center. So, in all of that fishing I caught one catfish at Crieghton (when I was fishing for pan fish) one Smallie at the Warm Water access, and a paddle fish below the darn (while trying to fish for catfish). So, I'm not sure what I am missing, or what isn't clicking with me, but I just cannot seem to catch a fish for the life of me. Now I used to drive up to Lake Stockton and fish at the Mutton Creek fishing Dock, and I always had good action there, but since they tore out the dock, I don't really have any fishing spot. Anyone with any advice, tips, tricks, good spots, anything like that? I love fishing but I'd say it's been a good 6 or 7 trips since I caught anything that wasnt bait.