MarkinKC

I've shared this before, but I got skunked on my first two trips to Crane. Be stealthy and enjoy the challenge!

Didn't make it in January, but did go out Saturday for the first time this year and fished 4 hours or so at Coot. I wish I could say I had this strategy all planned out, but I eventually ended up on a section of bank where the winds were whipping up whitecaps. Blowing directly at me and chilly. The wind/waves must have stirred up the bottom which attracted the minnows which in turn attracted the fish. I caught and released 45 Rainbows including two about 3lbs. Most were caught in about a 2-hour time frame, and when the wind died down so did the fishing. Nevertheless it was one of my best days ever. Used green and yellow mini-jigs with my strike indicator set at about 24 inches. Nothing suttle about the bites either, they pulled my dime-sized thingamabobber under like a catfish. I cannot ever remember more trout jumping while I played them. They were really charged up. Get out and have some fun and take the kids.

I'm giving some thought to trying to catch & release a few this Friday. With a few days of slightly warmer weather are there some open areas in which to fish?

I can tell you to forget crappie at Coot Lake. Had some time off last week and fished it 4-5 times for the stocked trout. Best day was a 11 or 12. Crappie were also biting the beadhead prince I was using. Caught several dozen crappie over the course of the week with none more than 6" long. They were still fun on the flyrod, but probably not what you are looking for. Mark

Yes, was me. Some days you get 'em and some days you don't. Agree ice-free water would be great. Sounds like next week we might hit the 50's so I remain optimistic. See you on the water. Mark

Spent most of the day on Friday. Really nice mid-December day. Never did figure out the trout, caught one and played and lost another. Did catch 21 crappie and 10-11 sunfish. None would have been considered big enough to keep had I been looking for a fish dinner.

redbird - I see that in this article they say Honker was stocked 11/21/11. Hopefully you will have some open water around Christmas. http://www.mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/winter-trout-fishing-begins-three-kansas-city-area-locations I'm planning to give it a try again tomorrow. Figure the lakes are open after a couple of days of 40's and 50's again. Probably won't last long!

Rainbows have been stocked in two lakes, Plover and Coot. Got out Monday and started fishing about 9:00 a.m. Managed 5 trout on the 5wt using a tan beadhead scud and something similar to a prince before I broke for lunch. Always a mistake, because they had turned off while I was eating. Caught only small crappie and sunfish until mid-afternoon. I landed 4 more, and missed at least that many, in maybe 30 minutes and then they shut off again. Fished 2 more hours without a bite and gave it up. All returned to the water. A little chilly in the morning, but overall a nice day with little wind. And........It was great to go trout fishing without having to drive 3 hours to do it.

Everyone that has spent any time fishing in Colorado has their favorites. One key for me is to locate some shopping nearby. Boulder is just north of Denver maybe 20-30 minutes depending on where you stay. I dropped my wife off at the Pearl Street Mall which has blocks of shops, galleries, and restaurants to keep her entertained while I'm fishing. I fished Boulder Creek and enjoyed it a lot. The highway runs alongside, which means it is easy to bounce from place to place along the miles of creek. Once you are in the water you quickly forget the highway. Check out the Boulder Creek Flyfishers on the internet. I purchased a map they created last year with lots of detail, fly selection, etc. Found it useful. Have fun. We're headed to Colorado again in mid-July and I cannot wait.

I don't know about the creek near Bass Pro, but I can share a conversation I had with a Bass Pro employee a month or so ago regarding the lake. He told me it was property of the City of Independence. According to him they stocked it a little over 3 years ago and there was supposed to be no fishing allowed for a period of 3 years. He said he saw fishing going on however so there was apparently no enforcement. He mentioned that there are surely some nice channel cat in there now, and likely other species of fish as well. It would be prudent to contact the City of Independence, maybe the Parks Dept, to ask before you fish.

Hmmm. I thought catch-and-release season in the trout parks was "artificial lures" only. I see many spin fisherman using assorted artificial lures, not flies, and thought I was on solid ground. I wouldn't want to violate the regulations.

I have learned so much from all of you that I wanted to share a little experiment that I conducted. I fish Bennett Spring and Roaring River each maybe twice or so a year, and especially enjoy the catch-and-release season. I like hopper/droppers during the summer and catch fish on both flies. This time of year I still prefer something I can see well, so I have mostly resorted to a brightly-colored indicator. I hate it when trout hit the indicator, and they especially like my dime-sized thingamabobbers. After a few futile hooksets, and of course some where I managed to actually foul-hook the fish, I learned to lay off those "bites". I knew I was missing fish, so I decided to try the indicator beetle made by Orvis and finally ordered a few to try at RR last Friday. The beetles are bright orange foam, kind of pinched to form a head, with 3 little rubber legs on each side of the body, and more importantly - they have a hook! They come in two sizes. The beetle floats well, but I added a little floatant just to be sure. Mine easily held up smaller droppers. I waited until about 12:30 until I saw a few fish taking something off the top. I was using 6X tippet if that matters. I tied on an Indicator Beetle and dropped a zug bug about 18 inches from the bend of the hook. I kept careful track of what I caught fish on. I brought 9 fish to the net in about two hours, taking 5 on the zug bug and 4 on the Indicator Beetle. I'm convinced. So if you too are tired of just watching as trout inhale your hookless strike indicators, give one of these a try. Mark

I finally caught some Crane Creek trout on my 3rd trip to the stream. And it is a long drive from KC to get skunked. Don't get discouraged.

I took a couple of hours off work to try out a new rod and spinning reel before heading out on vacation next week. I went to Catclaw, JackRabbit, Tanglewood, and Coot Lakes and did some exploring. Nothing to brag about, but I did catch 4-5 crappie and as many bluegill and it was a beautiful afternoon. Several of the lakes had so much weed growth that you could not cast a lure without dredging up a handful of weeds and moss. Tanglewood appeared to be completely unfishable for this reason. I saw nobody at this lake, so perhaps everyone else had already given up on it. I look forward to doing some fishing for catfish, just sitting in a comfortable lawn chair before it gets too hot. I plan to reduce the number of trout fishing trips I take to get more time on the water. I recall fishing at James A. Reed in the 1980's, and caught some nice channels. I see from the MDC signage that they've stocked some flathead catfish too. Nice weekend to all.

Here.

What a nice account. Made me remember fishing with my grandfather. I don't get to fish nearly as often as I like, and to fish that magical time right before a storm........it doesn't get any better. I enjoyed reading this while eating my lunch at work. Thanks for sharing it. MarkinKC

Tremendous turnout and a great job of organizing. Gotta feel good.

Looking forward to it. MarkinKC

How do you use your handgun to retrieve lures? Shoot them out of the tree?

Here is the clean-up flyer for the April 11th event. Hickory_Text.doc

Still working on the flyer and hope to complete it soon. Changing the focus to more of a notification of the clean-up event then the appeal for volunteers we started with. Will send to a couple of you for review/suggestions. Good scouting and photos. Wow. This does look like a challenge. Helps to see this so we bring the right equipment. I will extend the invitation to Andrew on behalf of the stream team and get us on the Neosho city calendar. MarkinKC

MarkinKC again. Looks like somebody we want to get acquainted with, and maybe invite to the first clean-up? Andrew Branson Stream Team Biologist Ozark and Southwest Regions Phone: (573) 522-4115, Ext. 3501 Fax: (573) 526-0990 Email: Andrew.Branson@mdc.mo.gov A native to southwest Missouri, Andrew began with the Stream Team Program in October of 2007, and is responsible for Stream Team coordination in southwest and south central Missouri. Graduating from Drury University with a degree in Biology, he has worked for the Missouri Dept. of Conservation since 2005 as the mobile aquarium operator. Prior to that Andrew was Curator of the Aquarium and Children’s Zoo at the Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma. When not involved with Missouri Stream Teams, he spends his time with his wife and two sons on their small farm south of Jefferson City, being a Boy Scout leader, and fishing Missouri streams.

Ollie - Notice that the City of Neosho website has a "Calendar of Events". Let me know if you want me to ensure the clean-up is listed. Mark

Great news Ollie. You are a one-man dynamo. The posts were quiet for awhile, but clearly you've been a busy guy. I just returned from business travel last night to find my MDC stream team packet waiting for me. It contained some good reading, a membership card, etc. For those of you who have not signed on yet, be sure and let Ollie know of your interest. You too can become a "card-carrying" member! As far as the initial flyer, Travis and I worked on it. I woud be happy to incorporate a sponsorship section. Just let me know which additional businesses or individuals should be listed. For organizations, maybe I can cut/paste their logos to give them a bit of advertising, and encourage their continued cooperation. Since I'm far from the stream, I will watch for long distance opportunities to contribute. Looking forward to the first clean-up on Saturday April 11th. MarkinKC

Nice work catching one on your first trip Don. I got skunked on my first two trips, finally broke the ice on the third visit. And thanks for including a couple of photos of the creek. It is indeed a pretty place to fish.