Root Admin Phil Lilley Posted January 23, 2009 Root Admin Posted January 23, 2009 What a wonderful day today. Hope we have some days in April like today. Minus the 19 degrees at the start!!! Was hard to imagine at 7:30 am it was going to warm up to 60 later in the day! I thought the fish wouldn't bite early... 19 degrees!! The lake should have been frozen over but we clocked the temp at 42. Boated to Snapp... stopped twice to thaw our faces. I didn't want to fish once we got up there. I can get pumped to fish for trout in 19 degrees but not crappie or any other warm water fish. Just doesn't compute! But fish we did. Caught the first crappie at 7:45 am. White 1/8th oz jig was my weapon of choice. Bill stuck with his swim baits, mostly a black over white 3 inch swimming minnow. I did throw a pearl 3 inch swimming minnow on a 1/4rd oz head several times and did catch a few but the white jig did the best for me. Set the boat in 20 feet of water and threw up into 5-9 feet and let it go to the BOTTOM. That's where 100% of the fish were. Had to get there and keep it there. Work it slow and stopped 2-3 times as we retrieved it. At first, the takes were soft, especially the crappie. There was a slight breeze from the north but not enough to affect the line or the feel. Mostly crappie for the first 2 hours. Then the whites started in. Mix in a walleye or two and some small bass and that was our day. The bite slowed mid day. The wind completely stopped about 10 am and picked up about 1 pm but still not much. We tried several other places up and down the lake. Similar structure- roll offs from flats to channel and a couple of humps Bill and Vince knew about. Oh yea- Vince joined up about 2 pm. We hit one spot where we picked up 5 nice whites in short order plus a beautiful yellow perch Vince caught- he released it before I could get a pic of it. It was really pretty... about 10 inches long. The whites later in the day were more active and would tap the jig pretty hard. Again, can't stress this enough, the lure had to be on the bottom. Ended the day with 15 nice crappie from 11 to 14 inches, 20 whites mostly 2+ pounders, one keeper walleye and 3 shorts, 3 big gills. Had a couple keeper blacks but didn't keep them plus several other small blacks. Bill counted 40+ rigs at the ramp. Never got crowded and everyone was pleasant on the water. Didn't get any good video... sorry. Chris Tectrick was fishing close to us most of the day. He has I think 10 crappie and 10 whites. Saw Tim Sainato on the water also. He and another guy had 2 limits of big whites by noon and were working on crappie when we talked to them.
Ham Posted January 23, 2009 Posted January 23, 2009 Great report. You're gonna make me have to meet CajunAngler up there instead of down here on the White. Fish I choose to eat and a fair amount of action over the course of the day. Hmmm. Can do. Every Saint has a past, every Sinner has a future. On Instagram @hamneedstofish
Hunter91 Posted January 27, 2009 Posted January 27, 2009 I haven't been out of K Dock in at least a year or more. Did they expand the parking lot as you said you saw 40 rigs there? Sounds like a great day of fishing though.
Sam Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 Ya know, any day from now on that the weather's decent, I'd suggest putting in at Beaver Creek rather than K Dock. K Dock has been my hidey-hole for years where I get away from the crowds, and many's the time my rig has been the only one there. But it's got one little ramp and very little parking. It's going to be a MESS when big crowds come, and that doesn't add to anybody's fishing enjoyment. Beaver Creek has lots of parking and multiple ramps, and it's maybe a 10-minute run by water from K Dock. There's lots of good water in between, too - including the stretch where most of the fish seem to be coming from now. Once you get launched, there's plenty of room on the water for everybody. Much as I love K Dock, I bet most of my trips there this year are going to be out of Beaver Creek.
Root Admin Phil Lilley Posted January 28, 2009 Author Root Admin Posted January 28, 2009 You're right- and those driving from the north- Beaver is just as close or closer. K-Dock is accessible from the west- Branson. It's another 20 minute drive for us, although I like putting it at River Run and fishing the upper part too but I understand their ramp isn't useable.
Wayne SW/MO Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 Phil I haven't personaly used the RR ramp, but it looks fine and before the storm others were using it. Today's release is tomorrows gift to another fisherman.
stone9-7=2 Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 I heard a group of unknowns have planted land mines at all public ramps on Bull Shoals & they won't have them removed until next winter.
Sam Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 Phil I haven't personaly used the RR ramp, but it looks fine and before the storm others were using it. No land mines, but I've known for years that what I often need is a couple of depth-charge racks on the back of my boat. Not big ones - just big enough for soda-can size charges. One slow pass to scope 'em, then turn around and make a run at full speed - laying down a pattern. Full speed is so I don't blow the tail end off my boat.
lonkm Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 No land mines, but I've known for years that what I often need is a couple of depth-charge racks on the back of my boat. Not big ones - just big enough for soda-can size charges. One slow pass to scope 'em, then turn around and make a run at full speed - laying down a pattern. Full speed is so I don't blow the tail end off my boat. Are those chartruse or pink and white hand grenades?
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