wily

I fished a club tourney friday night. The water was up about two feet. We went up the sac river and fished some of the pockets above birch branch. The water was muddy about 1.5 miles above birch. We caught a smattering of skinny 14" largemouths on spinnerbaits. I felt like the best fishing was off the bank closer to the timber, especially along the river channel. The fishing was slow, so we decided to move down the lake. We fished gooser until the sun came up. we caught a lot of 12" smallmouths and a few larger ky's/largmouths in there on the spinnerbaits. Our best fish was a 2.85 L-mouth on a jig. We fished in the morning around Ruark Bluff until 8. In the morning we caught fish on a chug bug, a bomber crankbait and a worm rigged on a jighead. All in all, my partner and I didn't fare to well. The better fish came from the clearer water farther down the lake around the state park and Hawker area. Big Bass was just under 5lbs and Heavy stringer was approx 13lbs.

is the CC ramp usable?

I'll jump in and offer my two cents. Redfins are easier to use than a spook. You just throw it out and steady reel it in. Reel at a speed where the bait stays on top of the water and creates a "v" wake back to the boat. If you reel too fast it dives a little. It is easier if you keep the lure in front of the boat while you are using the trolling motor. Redfins are made by cotton cordell. They're basically a big hollow rapala minnow bait. They come in both jointed and non-jointed styles. There isn't a trick to redfins, you reel it just fast enough to make a wake on top of the water. It's a big fish bait. They also work good at night because of the steady movement, similar to a jitterbug but without the noise.

Thanks for the report. We put in at Ruark Bluff saturday (4/22), and went to Sons Creek first. We fished the timber along the bluff bank just south of greaser and caught quite a few on a chartreuse beetle spin and also on a white road runner. We also caught a few on minnows and bobbers. We tied up in an area of cedar trees. Next we went to a gravel cove in open water and fished for bass. I threw 1/4 oz white spinnerbait, while my brother stuck with the beetle spin. I caught a handful of non-keeper bass, but my brother picked-up a couple more nice crappie around the isolated brush piles. The bass seemed to be on one bank and the crappie on the other. Next we went to birch branch and fished the timber again for crappie. We fished the south side and only went about a 1/4 mile back into the trees. We caught a couple more to finish the day. There were a lot of boats. The dept of conservation was at the Ruark Bluff boat ramp checking livewells saturday afternoon.

I can't speak about technique or the specifics but i saw a tremendous number of spoonbill being cleaned at the twin bridges ramp over the weekend (4/15). I assume they were fishing up the Neosho river. As for me, i took a friend and two young children in hopes of catching some crappie. We didn't have any luck, but the spoonbill were a plenty.

The father in-law (FIL) and I went Sunday around noon (4/9) for an hour or two. We didn't stay long because I wanted to get back and watch the Masters. We fished just above the bridge near the bluffs and caught six whites and one small black bass. We cleaned the females and they still had eggs. I used a rapala countdown minnow, and my FIL used a chartreuse Road Runner. We were there at the worst time (mid-day) and they were still biting pretty well.

How long does the Striper top-water bite last? One of the topics is Jan/Feb night fishing, so I’m assuming it’s good the winter months and thru May but do they come up on the gravel flats in the summer and fall?

My father in-law and I went Saturday night (4/1). He watched the bait and I threw topwaters. We fished gravel flats in the prairie creek area. The water temp was 56 degrees. We had six bites. Four bites on bait and two on top. I was using a jointed silver and black red fin early, and then switched to a larger one piece red fin. For bait we used large fat head minnows. We kept a 19 pounder, and cleaned it. It had 3 skeletons of fish in its stomach.

A friend and I tried it Saturday morning (3/25). We went upstream and fished the pool above the first riffle. We fished a couple hours. I caught a handful, and he caught two. The water had cleared and it was lower this week. I caught mine on a small silver countdown Rapala. His were caught on a Roostertail. His numbers were better than mine, but my fish were larger. I think this area would be great for waders but it’s about a ½ mile from the bridge. Fishing is usually good around the brush in the current (it’s only about 25 yards wide) and it’s also good above the bar. Above the bar, it remains shallow along the bluff bank for a long time. We caught some fish in the shallows but most fish come off the other bank. It’s an area that would be easy to fish. The best part of going further upstream is that you’ll get away from most of the boat traffic. As you get closer to the bridge, there are more and larger boats.

the spoonbill have began moving up the neosho river above twin bridges. I spoke to a friend who fished last weekend (3/18 &19). He said they put a pontoon boat in at miami city boat ramp, and went darn near to twin bridges. he said they caught 2 over 50 pounds, and saw many other boats with fish. He said the best places were where the river necked-down a little to concentrate the fish. He also said that his son caught a handful of white bass along the way.

Yes, you can wade fish it, but bring your walking shoes because there's a lot of water. My father in-law and i went sunday morning (3/19) in the rain and had a smattering of success. We started about a mile upstream of the bridge. We caught mostly small males. We caught the majority of fish on white jigs, but our better fish were caught on small jerk baits. There was some talk that the best fishing has already happened, but i don't think so because there are so many small males. I figure the females and the best fishing is yet to come.

I fished a club tournament Saturday. We launched at the state park in honey creek. We tried the rip-rap along the entrance to Shangri-La first. The wind was whipping thru there pretty good. My partner caught a couple short fish on a Firecracker Norman Little N. The water temp was low 50’s. Next, it was off to Terra Miranda. There were lots of boats fishing the point. Most of the boats were fishing jerks baits, and were having success. We spent a lot of time fishing the entire area. We each caught a handful of fish, with a few being keeper fish on Shad Raps off the point. A gold X-Rap, and a ¼ oz white spinnerbait were effective in the shallower water. The warmest water temp was 54 degrees. Next we decided to make the run to Elk River. Be careful in the midlake area because there are lots of humps that are just barely under the surface. The channel is marked with red/green buoys but they are undersized and difficult to see. We caught a quick limit on jigs off the backside of Wolf Point. I was using a Black and Blue Eakins w/ a blue Zoom super-chunk jr trailer. My partner was successful using a similar set-up but w/ a brown jig. The water temp was 53-54 degrees. About that time it started raining. My partner said lets head for the Elk River bridge. We fished the rip-rap until it was time to go back. We both caught quality fish. Mine came on a ½ oz spinnerbait w/ down-sized blades and his was caught on a Red/Chartreuse Model A crankbait. Next it was back to the ramp for the weigh-in. It was a hurried affair because of the rain but good fish were caught. Including two six pounders that were caught on a spinnerbait on a pet spot in the back of honey creek. The key to the spinnerbait is fishing it slow. If I was going back today I’d fish the Elk River area exclusively.

Thank you and yes sir I will. Our club is called Miner's Bass Club. We are based in Joplin. We do not have a web-site but we publish a monthly newsletter. The club is inexpensive. New members (boaters and non-boaters) are welcome. If you are interested send me an e-mail. the remaining 2006 schedule is: March 11 Grand Lake Middle Day (Honey Creek) April 8&9 Ft. Gibson Day (Taylor's Ferry) April 21 Table Rock Night (Big M) May 12 Stockton Night (Mutton Creek) June 9 Grand Lake Upper Night (Number 10) June 21 Eucha Night (Split) July 14 Beaver Lake Night (Prairie Creek) Aug 11 Table Rock Night (Campbell Point) Sep 8 Grand Lake Middle Night (Honey Creek) Oct 14&15 Norfolk Day (Classic) Nov 4 Big Hill Day (Dam) Dec 2 Stockton Day (Mutton Creek)

I live in Joplin. I am in my 30's and married with 2 small boys. I have an older 18' ranger bass boat that is part of our family. My boys have played in it since before they could walk. My father in-law and the boys go with me often. We're multi-species fishermen. We mostly fish Stockton, TR, Grand, Lamar Lake and the creeks in-between. I belong to a local bass club. We fish at least one tournament every month on a variety of area lakes in AR, KS, MO & OK. This weekend it's Grand Lake. We fish night tournaments in the summer. I've been to canada. We take an annual family trip to Taneycomo in October. I generally take at least one guided trip a year. This year it's stripers at Beaver in April. I would like to go to Lake Cuchillo, or Amistad next year.

We tried the Roaring River arm for white bass sunday afternoon (3/5). We didn't catch any whites. We fished the flats that are marked on the hot-spots map as #29 i believe. We caught 3 non-keeper largemouths, one on a 1/4 oz white spinnerbait in about 3 feet of water, and the other 2 on a white bucktail jig in about 9 feet. water temp was 48 degrees. For much of the day, there was a bald eagle in a tree overlooking our every move. The water level makes navigation tricky. Be sure to swing wide as you enter roaring river. As you enter into the river from the main lake; favor the right side because there is a rock just barely under the surface about 200 yards out.

The best fishing is further downstream. You can park near the mill, or there is another bridge (plenty of parking) about a mile further downstream. The best places to fish are the deep pools between the two bridges. Although this section of river isn't as pretty, you can catch trout year round.

I fished last saturday (feb 25th) in Mutton Creek area. My partner and I caught numerous short fish and 3 keepers on wind-blown points using Bomber Long-A's.

Are the ramps open at eagle rock or big m?