shockley32

Gotta watch out for those Muskie!!!!

Time to get out and catch some slabs! The crappie are in a mixed pattern, still hanging on to the fall pattern while transitioning to the winter pattern. Right now, you can catch your limit any way you want – standing timber, brush piles, channel edges or schools of shad. We had two limits this morning in less than an hour. Here are a few things to point you in the right direction: Channel edges – fish 8’-20’ deep in 20’-30’ of water. The fish are hanging out right on the edge of the channel around brush, logs or trees. You can troll down the edge of the channel until you find a nice group of fish. We were catching 4-6 nice 11”-13” crappie out of every school. Make sure to stock up on jigs and jig heads, you’ll need plenty! Schools of shad – Troll the channels along bluffs until you find schools of shad. The fish are piled in and under the shad. Typically, we catch 4-5 crappie before the school of shad moves on or bust up. This is a lot of fun – and you hardly ever lose a jig! Standing timber – The crappie are still holding to a fall pattern with standing timber. You can catch them by vertical jigging or pitch and retrieve. They are in 10’-30’ of water, anywhere from 4’-16’ deep. As the water continues to cool with overnight temps hovering around freezing this bite will slowly begin to thaw. Brush piles – The crappie are stacked heavily around brush piles, both shallow and deep. You can cast, count down and retrieve or vertical jig. The depth you need to fish will depend on the pile. Shallow piles in 10’-12’ of water are holding fish at 4’-8’ deep. Deeper piles in 15’-30’ feet of water are holding fish at 14’-24’ feet deep. Set up: We have been using a quality Ascension crappie rod with 6 pound Seaguar fluorocarbon line. For vertical jigging we always tie on 1/8th oz jig head (sickle hook – man these things are sharp!), with a Crappie Slammers jig. The best colors this past week have been Cotton Candy (a new color), Sunset, Toothpaste, Smoke Purple and glow chartreuse. The jig styles that we been killing them on are Fat Shad, Shimmer Stix, and Lil’ Shad. Good luck – stop by the store and let us know how you do! We always love it when our customers shad pictures of their success! Brad I AM Outdoors

KC Bass Fanatic - great job!

The fall pattern is in full swing and the feeding frenzy is on! The crappie are actively chasing the shad and moving shallower every few days. The crappie are holding to standing timber in 6-12 feet of water waiting to ambush the shad or a Crappie Slammers jig! The fish are anywhere from 6-10 feet deep. Focus your attention at the end of bluffs, coves or creeks. They are still solid fish with thick shoulders. The crappie are still on brush piles, they have been transitioning from deeper summer piles to shallower ones, focus on brush in 8-15 feet of water. Here are the other details: Jig – glow chartreuse or toothpaste were the hottest colors. I experimented with jig colors and styles over the weekend – color and style made a tremendous difference. The best jig was our new shad body with a twitchy tail or 1 ¾’’ shimmer stix. Some fish were caught with a vertical presentation, however the best bite was pitching the jig past the trees and slowly reeling it back. Use and 1/8th oz jig head and would cast/pitch 6-10 past the target area. Water conditions: The temp is currently 66 degrees, although it will be dropping a little every few days. The lake level is slightly above normal pool. The color is stained on the Pomme arm and dingy up the Lindly. Fished for six hours on Saturday and two of us caught between 75-80 keeper size fish. Get on out and enjoy the fall! If you need any assistance, please stop by I AM Outdoors (look us up on Facebook for pics) and we’ll help get you set up. Good luck in finding Limitville! Brad

The fall pattern is on! I'll be posting a new fishing report soon, it's a lot of fun right now! Recently I've had a lot of success on glow chart and toothpaste. Brad

Crappie fishing is excellent – not only quantity but quality! The last two weeks I’ve been limiting out in a few hours or less. Both arms of the lake are the same. Here are the details: Brush piles – crappie are congregating around brush piles on the flats and off the points of small creeks/coves. Try piles in 15’ – 25’ of water, fish are generally 10’ – 15’ deep. If you are not getting bit over the top of the brush look for the crappie suspending about a boat length away. Standing timber – the fish are holding to the trees! Try 15’ – 30’ of water and fish 8’ – 12’ deep. I’m having tremendous success pitching a jig and letting it fall back by the tree. Trees located along bluffs, flats and mouths of creeks are the best. Start with an Ascension crappie rod (excellent rods and great price at I AM Outdoors, Buffalo, MO), lined with Seaguar fluorocarbon and 1/8th oz jig head. The hottest color the past two weeks has been electric lime, although I’ve done very well on glow chart, toothpaste, shad and pink. Crappie slammers jigs in Shimmer Stix, Lil Shad and Thinner Minner have been hot. I’m currently testing a new prototype jig, nice shad shape, with excellent results – look for it on our shelf soon. Good luck finding Limitville! Brad

Great color!

Not sure about a bass report, however I did catch 15-20 bass per trip while crappie fishing. Most were small, but there were a few keepers sprinkled in. They will give the old crappie rod a workout! Brad

I should take more pictures! It's been an awkward year with the water, hoping it gets to normal soon. The plan is to be on the water on a regular basis! Brad

It's been a while since I've posted a report. Here you go! Crappie are slightly scattered around brush and standing timber in isolated areas, however other areas (within a mile) they are stacked tightly together. If you aren't getting bit or catching multiple fish in a particular area (ex: brush pile) watch your graph about a boat length away from the pile, we caught several just suspended 20-30 feet from the brush. Recently went out for two days and fished both the Pomme and Lindley arms. Had 30 keepers both days in under three hours. The fish are solid, thick and very healthy. Here's the details: Crappie are 8-12' deep in 16-30' of water. They are biting both vertical jig as well as pitching and swimming it back. The bite is light and you need to pay close attention. I used the following jigs and colors for these trips: Crappie Slammers jigs (available at I AM Outdoors on Hwy 65 in Buffalo, MO, you should check out this store, it's awesome!) Style: Lil' Shad, Shimmer Stix, Thinner Minner Color: Electric Lime, Glow Chart, Toothpaste, Pink Now the lake is nearly back to normal I hope to be on the water more! Good luck - catch a boat load! Brad

Due to high water we will cancel the June 15th Crappie Slammers Tournament. Thanks for your understanding. Brad

Sorry for the delay, I've been out of the country the past several weeks. The entry is $25 per person, you can have as many as you want in the boat, the boat will weigh 7 fish for the team total. Most people fish with 2-3 per boat. Thanks, Brad

Currently it's 22' plus!!! It is raining with more rain in the forecast - doesn't look good for a while. Hopefully the Mississippi gets down quickly and all the lakes can start releasing water to ease things. It will be an interesting next few months on the lake. Hopefully the officials can chime in and let us know what they are anticipating. Brad

Tournament Rules 1. Participation is open to all. Entry date and time will determine boat position. 2. Tackle and Equipment: All artificial baits, lures and live bait may be used. All fish must be caught on rod and reel. 3. All participants are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship and must comply with ALL Missouri Department of Conservation laws and regulations. Participants are allowed to fish anywhere on tournament lake except 10 yards from another competitors boat. Participants must fish with at least on foot on the boat. 4. Final results and prize money will be determined by the pounds and ounces of each boats catch during the tournament. Only crappie will be weighed. A 9” minimum length on each fish with a boat limit of 7 fish. The penalty for a short fish will be the loss of that fish plus 6 ounces. Any crappie that appears to have been mangled, mashed, mauled, altered, frozen or iced will result in immediate disqualification. 5. In case of a tie the winner will be determined by the biggest fish, if a tie still continues a coin will be flipped. 6. Check in late penalty: Participants who are not in the official check-in area at the appointed time will be penalized 1 pound per minute to be deducted from the team’s total weight. Any competitor more than 15 minutes late will be credited with no weight. 7. Unless previously stated any violation of the above rules, with tangible proof, will result in immediate disqualification.

Crappie Slammers Tournament Series Lake Pomme De Terre Pittsburg State Park $25 per person 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM April 20th May 18th June 15th July 20th Aug 17th Sept 21st Oct 19th Come on out and have a great time!