Bassin4fun

Yes, they moved the event to next Saturday. I think that's the first time they have moved event due to weather in last 3 years.

I had to replace all three batteries in my boat this past week. They just wouldn't charge or hold a charge anymore. I am all set to go this weekend and hoping this colder weather will have helped the jerkbait bite. 😁 Although, I am going to spend some time looking for those deep bass too. I have only been able to catch from a school I saw on my graph on one occasion and that was during the summer. I don't have FFS and doubt I ever get it. I will be upgrading my graphs this year though for larger screens and some side imaging transducers. Not having the side imaging is hurting my ability to find schools. I am still debating if I will do the MoYak Winter events. There is one on Taneycomo next weekend (13th). I have the drysuit and gear... Last winter, I was fishing every week in the bitter cold. There were a couple of times I questioned my sanity...

I fished this area on Sunday. It was slow. I caught two on a jerkbait (spotted bass) and 3 on rock crawler...one brownie, one largemouth, and one spot. Water temp was 50-53F. Further you went toward Ark, colder it was. I fished from Eagle Rock to just past Beaver. I was hoping I could find a walleye jerkbait bite...but never caught a one. The bass bite is definitely better at Big M towards main lake. Water Temps were 55-56. And I caught em in 6ft to 15 ft of water with rock crawler running parralel to bank.

I went out this past weekend as well. I put in at Eagle Rock and actually fished up to Big M. I ended up with about 20 or so. No keepers. I was fishing jerkbait and rock crawler. Rock crawler was what worked and what I stuck with. I ended up with a double...had a third following them too!! I caught mostly spots but had a good largemouth that came off. He was fighting pretty good and broke the surface and I lost him. I didn't think that they would with the water being colder...but it obviously ain't that cold yet. 🤪 I am planning to go walleye fishing. May put in at Campbell's Point that weekend and use a drop shot with minnow and a minnow on a jig techniques to try. I don't have the setup to troll and I didn't catch any up in the white on Sunday jerkin'.

There aren't any fish up in Long Creek...nothing but creek chubs and bluegills. All small, practically see through. Definitely, no brownies in there. 😁

I just fished a kayak tournament there on Sunday. Bite was kind of tough. All 7 guys struggled, including an angler that has won 3 of the last three events on Truman with over 85" each event for his best 5. I caught them early on a squarebill. I tried walking topwater but no dice. Did get some whites to bite it though. I thought for sure with cooler morning on Sunday the topwater bite would be good. I didn't really throw a jig or plastic creature much but did not get bit when I did. I don't think I caught any bass after 10am. That's when the drum bite was on fire though. 😒 I caught about 7 of those bastards. I also threw a deep diving crank around points...but didn't get bit. Think I had maybe a dozen bass and lost 3 or 4. Two of those were decent fish too.

There are several videos on YouTube about this very topic...Crawdads on Table Rock. They were using hotdogs. Some of the other videos and comments to them go into detail about where to place traps.

My grandson's soccer game was canceled, so I decided to go try my luck at LOZ in my yak. I launched at Gravois Mills. I was on the water and fishing gear by 6:30am. The water temps for the day were in the low to mid 70's. I fished channel swing bank and the shallow flat side as well. I fished until 2pm. I ended up with 15 bass, only one dink of a keeper that measured about 15.5". I did lose one that looked as though it would have measure 16-17". I caught one on a spinnerbait and the rest on a Texas rigged, Zoom Craw. The bass I caught were shallow. I saw a lot of empty beds in the pockets I went up into. I may have had better quality in main lake or fishing deeper. It was still fun as most of the fish were in that 12-14" range and were fighters. Didn't take any pics this trip.

I hit the lake in my yak at about 6:15am. Water Temps were in the mid 60's. Not sure on visibility, the water definitely had some color and cloudiness (mud/silt) due to rain. It did seem that the water turned more muddy (chocolate milk) as day went on. I was off the water by 1:30pm or so. I caught 18 bass and 1 crappie. I had 5 keepers, ended up with a total of 80.5" for my best five fish. I missed a couple of fish and lost a few as well. A Texas rigged creature bait or spinnerbait seemed to work best. Another angler said he was catching them in a worm and on a chatterbait. I think the chatterbait would have been a solid choice, but I didn't bring one. Topwater was not working. I tried a hollow body frog in shallow cover and also a walking bait around the edges and in open water...no dice. I focused on cover I could see. Some pics of the better catches.

I was out on Lake Springfield this past Saturday (April 29th) and water temps were 60-61°F. I caught 4 largemouth bass, a goggle-eye, and crappie. Caught on crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Bass are moving into shallows. I expect that the bite will really start to heat up this weekend and carry into next week with the warmer temps in the forecast. Vegetation in water is starting to green up and grow again. Lots of kayaks and pond prowler on the lake. I expect we will see quite a few tin boats out there too.

We had a kayak tournament there on Saturday. I think I had at least 10 and probably more that were in that 14-14.75" range. I caught about 50 bass. Only 2 were over 15".

We had a kayak bass tournament on Pomme de Terre Lake. I was closely monitoring the storm and weather. I did not venture more than 30 minutes from my launch using my trolling motor on high (~ 2 miles from launch). About 2pm, it hit. I knew that it would likely be between 2 and 3 based on radar and hourly forecast. I saw the clouds in the distance when I started making my way back. When I saw the lightning, I was fishing within 100-200 yards of my launch and headed in. I had just loaded up when the rain hit and was driving away when it started hailing. The hail was quarter to golf ball....with some larger chunks too. I decided to skip the awards in Bolivar and head back to Springfield as that direction was clear. I basically outran the storm home. Several anglers were caught out in the weather. One of our anglers got video of being out in it...you can see in the video that he was using his trolling motor and pedals to try and get back to his launch asap. Thankfully, he wasn't injured. I saw a post by another angler that he looked like he had been in a paintball fight due to the hell. If you have been shot by paintballs...the leave whelps. Here is a video...

We have a kayak tournament for USA Bassin Jackson Kayak Trail this Sunday. Plus, we have the MoYak kayak tourney on Pomme de Terre this Saturday. Tourney season in full swing. 😁

There was lots of debris in water. Made it tough to fish in some areas...impossible in many areas to throw a faster moving bait. This pic was from Kings arm toward main lake after launching at Viola Public Use area. The ramp had a ton of debris and courtesy dock was probably 8ft or more from dry land.

I fished from Viola public launch up toward main lake on Sunday. I only caught 4 dinks...all spots. Those fish were along chunk rock, steeper banks or bluffs. They were in probably 6-18ft of water. Water Temps were in the low 50's. I caught them on Rock Crawler. I talked to a guy that was fishing deeper...15-30ft of water and using jigging spoon and A-rig. He was catching largemouth and had several keepers. I saw fish on my graph but did not bring tackle or rigs to fish those techniques. It was the same on Saturday out of Big M. Fished the dirtier water...not totally mud...caught all spots. Fish were kinda spread out...and managed to catch several fat, short spots on a spinnerbait in the bushes and some on crankbaits a bit deeper out. Saw fish in deeper water...but didn't bring gear to catch those. I was in my yak and thought those fish may have been more shallow. Saw several crappie schools in the 10-20ft zone too on both days. I am likely going crappie fishing this weekend out of my boat. Maybe try to find some walleye too. The pic is of one of those lil chunks from Saturday. Probably caught 3 or 3 like that in addition to some smaller fish. I think I had 7 or 8 total on Sat.

So do I. In my yak, always have it on. In my boat when motor is running or if water temps below 70, I always wear it...even while fishing. I also now have a kayaking dry suit on when In my yak with water temps below 70 and air temps below 80. Also have a dry bag with full change of clothes, towel, coat, hat, and gloves.

When you are submerged, the cold water makes you gasp uncontrollably and this fills up your lungs with water immediately if your face is under water when this occurs. This can happen when your head goes under suddenly...like falling off a boat, a dock, or a kayak. Wearing a life vest is critical. https://lifesaving.com/issues-safety-rescue/prevention-and-management-of-torso-reflex/

That is sad. It is super scary how quickly things can go south if you go overboard even on calm water if the water temps are below 70...let alone in the 40's. Couple that with the freezing temps we had Thursday through the weekend....not a good situation.

Yeah, the line I was using was the PLine 12LB Fluoroclear copolymer line. I retie a lot. Before I started retying as often as I do now, I would lose a lot of lures where the line would simply break when casting or when hung up. I quit using anything less than 12lb test because of how often it was breaking. I would prefer to use 15lb test or higher but for these smaller crankbaits and jerkbaits...the 12lb test allows me to cast further and get down further. It is rare that I have a fish break me off. Maybe once or twice per year and that has been at Pomme where I think it was likely a big muskie. This was the only time at Table Rock having a fish break me off in 3yrs.

I was in the yak today in Flat Creek. I caught about 20 or so but no keepers. I had quite a few smallies that were just short. I did get broke off. I was using 12-lb coploymer line. I had my drag set too high and whatever I had hooked surged as I got it near the boat and broke me off. I didn't get a chance to see it. I lost a good one yesterday in a tournament trying to horse it...came off right before I could grab my net. Rookie moves.

Yeah, I ordered a bunch that hopefully get me through until I find another place to buy them. I am open to suggestions.