jimithyashford

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.