straw hat

I know that most experienced fishermen know about wind circulation but there is also some younger anglers on the site so I thought a quick explanation might help them. Someone (Sorry, I don’t remember who) recently posted that they went fishing last Saturday and was surprised that the south facing bank was the coolest and the north facing bank was the warmest. This is easy to explain when one considers that the wind was from the north last Saturday. That north wind pushed the warm water against the south bank (which faces the north). And due to the circulation in the lake from the wind, the cooler deeper water is brought up to the surface along that north bank (which faces the south). See the diagram for spring below. This effect can be important when you are looking for particularly warmer water (say winter or early spring) or cooler water in summer. Also don’t forget that that windy bank is real important during summer because of the extra 1 to 3 ppm oxygen it can put in the water due to waves and agitation. When that lake surface temperature is really hot in summer this can make a huge difference. Circulation.doc

Welcome murpddog. I look forward to your postings.

Thanks for the report Bob. Good to hear some are coming to the nest.

I may somewhere along there on Friday evening as well. Good luck!!! Good luck with the kids also. I knew that the government was hard up for money but I am not ready to fish those "fee coves" yet. lol

Hit a cove about 1 mile north of Hartley. Real clear. Six foot visibility. No crappie but did manage to pick up one 15 1/2" smallie in 18' of water. Water temp was 54. Went to Maze creek, still dingy with a water temp of 54. Hit a cove about 1 mile from Ruark. 54 degrees, caught 1 spawning crappie but couldn't find any others on the bed yet. My best suggestion is still the CC area. They have been running just off the points in slightly deeper water. Wish I could be of more help. Good luck and let us know how you do.

Good to hear from you again. I am going to check out two more spots tomorrow, one near Ruark and one near Hartley. I think spawning will just be getting started by Friday around CC. I know a few people caught some spawners north of CC where the water wasn't cooled (and muddied) as much by the incoming water from Big Sac. I will post how I do on these other two areas including water temp. Maybe that will help you decide where to hit on Friday.

Been picking up one or two nice cats each time I go lately. All in or near the back of coves at 5 to 10' deep. No numbers yet but should be soon.

Ran to the lake for a couple hours last night and fished a steep rock bank in the CC area. It was cloudy and chilly but managed to find the crappie around 12' deep. Nailed 16 before it got to dark. Water temp was still a little low, 52. Well this made us pretty excited about today. Got up early and hit the same bank. In the morning before the wind came up we got 16 crappie, a 3 lb channel and one nice white. In the afternoon they sure did shutdown. Only caught one more keeper crappie and finally called it quits around 4 PM. The fish were deeper today, 12 to 20'. Hopefully with a few warm daays they will come back up shallow again.

Are you going for channels or blues.

Started the day off at Maze Creek and was surprised that the water temp was only 54. Water was a little dingy but not bad. Fished a couple shallow brush piles without a hit. Moved to the very back of a nearby side cove. Thought maybe a few cats or bass may have moved in there to feed. I fished large minnows and nightcrawlers. Managed to pick up a 3 lb channel and a 3 and 2 pound largemouth in the first 20 minutes. All fish were 5 to 7’ deep not far from where the runoff was coming in. Water temp in the back of the cove was 50!! Fished there another 2 hours without another hit. Moved to a cove just south of Ruark. Water was clear but still only 52! Fished two more shallow brush piles without a hit. Drove to CC. Water was very muddy and a little light debri on the surface. Water temp was 52, this same place was running around 60 last Saturday. I met a guy there with a limit of crappie. He said he had traveled north from CC until he found clearer and warmer water (58) and limited out in 1 ½ hours. According to the USGS website Turnback is up 3 ½ feet and dropping. It was very muddy when I crossed the 160 bridge. Little Sac is up 2 feet and dropping. Big Sac is up 2 ½ feet and holding steady.

I agree!! I also am planning on heading up there tomorrow. I plan on driving around a little and will post a report on what I see.

I always fish a few large shiners for bass and/or cats depending on where we are fishing. Those were caught on 4 to 5" shiners.

Fished near CC today. It was slow fishing, not too bad in the morning but terrible for us in the afternoon. Caught 5 keeper crappie up on the bank ready to spawn (water temp was 58) mostly males. Caught the rest (8 keepers) about 10 feet deep just off the spawning area and suspended. Caught 2 keeper bass (both around 16") and around 15' deep. Also caught 2 nice whites (14 and 15 1/2"). With the incredible rise in water temps lately the spawn could be quick, intense and over fast. See you on the lake.

My mistake btlife2short, I drove by today and the name is Bike Depot. My bad!!!

There is a storage place about 3 or 4 miles north of springfield on 160. I do not know the name of it but it is right next to the Bike Shop on the right hand side of the road.

Welcome to the forum littlemercy. Look forward to your input on things.

Major bummer zareaspook but I guess on the good side it has to get better soon. lol

Hit CC today. Water temp was 47 to 49 where I was. A lot of boats. Even the overflow parking was full and there was still 4 or 5 boats waiting to put in when I left at noon. Only a couple people I talked to had any fish. Most of the fish I saw caught were caught by boats drifting in the channel. Saw a lot of crappie and whites being caught suspended but most seemed small. Having said that, it should be noted that they did a lot better than I did. lol

One thing about it Hyde, our next trip has got to be better!! lol

Man I couldn't buy a bite today. Water temp was 46, somewhat clearer than last Thursday, stained some but looked good. The wife came up with 1 keeper and I struke out. Saw a lot of people with whites, mostly small males but a couple nice females. Also saw a couple small walleye caught. Lots of people both in boats and on the bank. The weather forecast is talking about an inch or more of rain tomorrow so things will change if that happens. I hope you all did better than us.

It typically takes walleye 24 to 48 hours to settle down and start feeding again. They typically shock only enough fish to collect enough spawners OR to do a representative count. The point being that they won't shock the entire area so there will still be plenty of fish they didn't disturb. Good luck and I hope you bring home a boat load!!

Last Thursday it was running 45 to 46 at CC.

They start spawning around 45 depending on weather.they should be starting around right now.

I think I have come up with what you need. I will try and attach it. Prey.doc

I thought these references might help you know what species might be present. I will see if I can come up with some photos too. Crawfish of the Sac Riverdrainage area; http://extra.mdc.mo.gov/fish/watershed/sac/biotic/340bct21.htm The bottom three of the list would be the common ones. Fish of the Sac River drainage includes; http://extra.mdc.mo.gov/fish/watershed/sac/biotic/340bct16.htm http://extra.mdc.mo.gov/fish/watershed/sac/appendix/34aptc2.htm Fish that have been stocked in lakes of the Sac River drainage. http://extra.mdc.mo.gov/fish/watershed/sac/biotic/340bct20.htm The silversides and threadfin shad were stocked as forage fish.