Opinions On Eating Fish And Whats Biting?

[LEBHUNTFISH]

Hey guys I'm new to the area and just a week or two ago I found out I had a lake about 15 min from my house. (never had that luxury before, wahoo) I was wondering what everyone's opinions are as far as eating fish from Springfield, Fellows, and MC Daniels Lakes.

I was also wondering if a man could find out what is biting and where to go to catch them from the bank. Maybe some white bass and some crappie and maybe even some walleye. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[gobblergetter]

hey there good to see a new face, I am in ozark and go to springfield lake and fellows quite a bit in the summer months. I personally would be hard pressed to eat a fish out of springfield lake. it may be fine now but years ago it was nasty. I dont know if it ever has cleaned up. The lake is good for some pretty awesome bass action. anything from pitchin a tube at submerged cover and weeds to jerkbaits on the bluff bank. its also good for catfish however the usually run small. If you catch one that weighs three pounds your doin good. it also has some crappie. many of the bass we catch out of springfield lake have sores on them which leads me to think its something in the water. I have actually never fished mcdaniels but from what I hear it is fine, Fellows is a great little lake. Its close to home yet has that big lake enviroment. excellent crappie population as well as good walleye,muskie and catfish. The lake is clean, it is the source for springfield drinking water, and the fish are fine to eat. Years ago people used to fish a lot from the earthen bridge at night with lights for crappie, with pretty good success. I can remember my dad talkin about goin up and catchin 80 crappie a night but they were all really small, like in the six inch range. that has all changed thanks to the walleye and muskie now there are nice crappie in the lake and even the odd 14 incher. I dont know much about fishing from the bank up there because I have a boat that I use. I would say your best bet right now is to fish at the hot water discharge at springfield lake. The fish have a tendancy to move into that warmer water when the temp drops in the rest of the lake. There are some bruiser large mouth that come out of there too, We had a neighbor that caught one several years ago that was a little over 8 pounds. shoot me a pm sometime maybe we could meet up and do a little fishin from my boat.

G. G.

[nathan RN]

there is nothing wrong the the fish in any of these lakes. eat whatever you would like. so many people say not to eat fish out of springfield lake but really there is no difference between any lake because that all have inlet water and outlet water that comes and goes from the same places. i have never caught a bass with a sore on it from springfield lake.

[binman]

Hey there I agree with nathan I have fished all three locations and the fish is good to eat take it from a fella who has ate fish out of all these places for years if you are looking for whites,walleyes and crappie i would highly suggest that you focus on fellows lake I have caught many of whites and crappie as far as walleye goes I have seen plenty caught by boat but not many by bank.Mc Daniel lake has a ton of crappie run under the bridge but most are not the size you are looking for some keep them but I try to keep only 9in 10in fish which are few and far between.Springfield Lake if you have a jon boat or small boat with a trolling motor you can usually sit at the first bridge and catch a few nice crappie there.Down by the old launch ramp in the park is a ton of vegetation/lilly pads I personally use a white horny toad or a 6in Berkely worm black in color for some real nice LM fishing I have caught some good solid 8 pound fish in this area.Well hope I helped you a bit good luck fishing.

Brandon Inman

[emjay]

directions to this first bridge? heard about it but have never gone there.

[LEBHUNTFISH]

Thanks fellas, it sure is nice to have this water this close to home. I will try to do some bass fishing at Springfield lake and concentrate on the whites and crappie and walleye at fellows. Binman I would love to take you up on that offer about the boat thing I don't have one but I love to fish from a boat. If we can get together on a weekend sometime maybe I can convince my wife to go with us if that's ok with you. She likes to fish and likes to fish from a boat but she aint good with going with someone she don't know. I think from the sounds of things that I can use my best judgment about eating the fish from annoyware until I see a warning put out. Thanks again and does anyone have any fishing reports?

[stickbait]

hey all, been reading these pages for a couple months stumbled in by chance and like it. I thought I would wiegh in on the area lakes. I haven't fished springfield much in the past few years but have seen some huge bass there, could have caught one that may went 10 but saw her coming and got alittle excited and took the bait right away from her. Also I have caught crappie out of there in 15 - 16 inch range but that was before they sprayed the weeds and pads. As for mcdanial lots of crappie, but very small. You can troll plastic worms from one end of the bridge to the other and catch some decent bass, just walk slow. Haven't really fished fellows in about 10 years but it also holds some good bass.

[binman]

emjay if you go left from the ramp the first bridge you get to I think if I am not mistaking it's an old rr bridge just tie up or anchor there FYI the best luck I have had with catching crappie there was at night in the middle of summer using crappie lights and shiners you probably wont catch many the most I have caught at one time is 8 but I gaurantee they are good size fish.There also is another little spot on down that I catch more at but you will have to pm me for that location it's a honey hole so to speak. LEB I am actually in the process of finding a small jon boat and putting a 4hp motor on it hopefully I will have it by late may so be patient but it might be possible for you and your wife to get together with me and my wife and go down to stockton in the boat and get on some good crappie and walleye by numbers.Also here before long I will be taking trips down to the river for the white bass run and not to mention the number and size of the walleye maybe like to get together and head down a couple times for a stringer load.

Brandon Inman

[binman]

Also as far as fishing reports go the warm water outlet is a good place from the bank right now this time year when the water cools off them fish head to the warmer water try throwing a white crankbait or a shad rap etc. also anything that resembles a perch in color is usually real good you might get lucky on that perch color and pull in a nice flathead I have seen this happen numerous times there I am also talking about Springfield Lake to be more specific

[et84]

I fish for crappie from the Fellows Lake fishing dock all the time, as I do not own a boat. We usually go at night and use a green light. For bait I've never used anything but minnows (because I haven't had to!). You can get the minnows at Moore's Market, a little gas station on N. Glenstone right on your way out to the lake- I think they're $3/ dozen, but I haven't been there in a while. Sometimes I use a minnow trap with crackers or dog food in it, but the fish it catches are usually bigger than crappie like to bite at. I eat crappie out of Fellows, and so does my family. I caught the 13" whopper in the picture off the dock on 9/28 last year around 11:30 p.m., and filleted him up with several others for my 97 year-old grandma. Even though this guy is the biggest I've caught there, we usually catch plenty in the 9-11" range. I know Fellows also holds walleye & muskie, but I think people usually put a boat in for those guys. Hope this helps- maybe I'll see you down there one night!