Kimberling City Crappie?

[Phil Lilley]

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MMMmmmm! Crappie and eggs for breakfast........now you're talking!

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Thanks for the great info Sam! Not to show my ignorance, but when you mention a swimming minnow, could you elaborate.

http://lilleystacklestore.com

The original swimming minnows... not the knock offs.

I have the 3 inch, not the 2 inch.

[powerdive]

On this lake,

Bass = common, average size = decent, top size = nothing special.

Walleye and crappie = fairly scarce, average size = excellent, top size = record class.

Some folks prefer the challenge--so have fun, all ye Romans!

[CaptainJoe]

I buy my original swimming minnows at Phil's Place (Lilley's Tackle Store). Good minnows and very productive.

Joe

[Sam]

Phil - I'll have to pick up a bunch of Swimming Minnows from you. I didn't realize that those are the originals, and they look good. I sure like the larger sizes.

Don't know if I ever mentioned it here, but a couple of years ago in the late winter/early spring when crappie were going so good at Long Creek, the biggest one I caught in all those trips was 16 1/4". It was a big female white crappie, of course.

Back home cleaning fish, I noticed that big crappie's stomach was full - real full. I cut the stomach open and there was a fresh shad in there, rolled up like a roll of toilet paper. I measured the shad, it was 6 3/4" long - and the crappie still thought it was hungry enough to bite my lure!

I try to keep that in mind, and never think that a 3" lure is too big for a big crappie. The baitfish in our local lakes are big, and that's what the crappie like.

[Bill Babler]

I'm sorry, I must have misread his post. "Kimberling City Crappie Next Week". I completely misunderstood the post. Didn't think he mentioned traveling up to Galena, Cape Fair, Flat Creek, Kings River or Longcreek. Must have missed that part.

I'm sure its only a hop skip and jump from Kimberling City to any of those RIVER destinations.

For all of you that are catching big limits of slab crappie at Kimberling City now, Now being the key word, God Bless You. I can't do it. This gentleman has to my knowledge not been here, and I am sure with all your great info, he will run right out at Kimberling and fill boat with keeper crappie, or for that matter, even catch 1.

Seems to me someone here a very good fisherman that is a local and loves to fish for crappie and whites had a very tough struggle last week, not only fishing the Kings, but also Longcreek. Again probably misunderstood the advice.

I had no idea all you had to do was go up the James river and throw a swimming minnow on the flats to catch limits of crappie and whites.

I'm going to start taking all my trips to these locations if its that easy, as I'm sure it must be.

I continue to learn, and am constantly amazed.

Good Luck out there.

[Sam]

Wow, Bill - you sure floored me with that posting. Taken along with your rant the other day in another thread about people "keeping their mouths shut" instead of telling about their fish that got away - well, it makes me wonder if there's some trouble going on in your life that's got you upset. I sure hope not, honestly.

If you look back at what I told motoman, I covered everything you're making fun of here. I told him I agree with you that Kimberling City isn't the place for crappie now, and I also gave him some spots around there that will be good for crappie come May and June. Then I told him where he could have a much better chance at crappie now - where, how, and with what lures.

I mentioned that it's a real long run by boat from Kimberling, and that they'd probably want to trailer their boat, launch at Bridgeport, and go upriver. I even explained how crappie act up there right now in pre-spawn staging - that IF they can find a bunch it'll be a big bunch on the flats, and that IF they don't they'll have fun with white bass.

That's good information, the best I know to help motoman out - and I thought I was good to share it. I've been up James fishing exactly where I described twice in the last 10 days, and I've caught crappie and white bass on both trips. No crappie limits yet, but I had some good keepers and threw a bunch of shorts back both times that would have made more than limits if they'd all been over 10".

Then - after motoman asked what a swimming minnow is and I posted a link to Bass Pro, I was afraid I'd stepped on Lilley's toes. When he said he had the 3" originals at his shop, I came back and said I'd get some from him, that I didn't know his were the originals, and that I like the larger size. I didn't mean to give Bass Pro a plug over a locally-owned tackle shop, and I hope I fixed that. I'm really trying to get along with you guys.

I know you're sore at me because I've been ragging you about your over-the-top K Dock report from a couple of months ago. Well, you oughta get over it. A whole lot of people, including me, have had both good and poor trips there since. I'm hoping we've got a good year coming up on Bull Shoals because of last year's flooding, but I think time has already showed that your "back to the glory days of the 60's" was a load of b.s.

If you're going to jump on me every time I post something trying to help someone, I'll just quit coming here - that's easy.

[Bill Babler]

Not at all Sam, and for that matter, I very much enjoy your post. Don and I both, were just responding to the post as it was written. Right now fishing Kimberling for crappie.

I look at things in a totally different light. I have to catch fish and I have to spend every minute on the water wisly. He said Kimberling City and I said Bass. If he would have said he was staying at Bridgeport, Hickory Hollow, or Brushy Creek Resort, my post would have been entirely different.

He wanted to catch his Boss some crappie, Right now at Kimberling. Can anyone take him to there spots they have found, or tell him where he can catch some crappie at Kimberling City Right now?

We as locals have the great opportunity to go and if we don't catch them, so what. Or we caught them here or there in the past. Does not mean Right Now we can run over there and catch them, or for that matter tell a person that has never been here how to or where to go.

As far as Table Rock being a Crappie distination, I can think of 20 lakes right off the top of my head that I would rather go to than the Rock.

Bull Shoals for sure being one.

Sam I think your James River information was excellent, but you made it sound way to easy. I have been up both the Kings and Longcreek in the past week and several of my guide buddies that live at Cape fair are out everyday looking for whites and crappie, and it just ain't as easy as swimming minnows on flats.

We know these areas, as you do, and fish them continusly this time of the year. Some days we do well, some days its horrible.

I being a guide can't take those types of chances with clients. I have to put them on fish. That is why I'm going to Bass fish for the most part on Table Rock, I can always catch them and 90% of the time, tell people, people that have never even been here how to catch them.

Always look forward to your post. Not a rant at all, look at all the icons I put in the post, just havin a little fun.

[skeeter]

A " tip of the cap " to those who can consistently catch Crappie anytime of the year on the Rock. You must be on the water a whole lot more often than I and a much better fisherman ( which ain't hard ! ). Right now, during Lent, I get the taste for fresh fish and by that I mean Crappie. Wish they sold them in stores. Have to resort to going to Rundy's or Culver's for their Walleye.

Also thanks for the comment about the subsurface water column being way too cold yet. Maybe these winds will help stir it up but night time temps are forecast to drop into the 30's again and that won't help a bit.

[Sam]

A " tip of the cap " to those who can consistently catch Crappie anytime of the year on the Rock. You must be on the water a whole lot more often than I and a much better fisherman

No, I didn't mean to imply that, not a bit. The key word there is "consistently", and I can't do that.

I've caught some crappie out of Tablerock in the past in every month of the year, but in the cold months it's tough, tough. Right now I'd have as hard a time as anybody catching even one crappie around Kimberling City, and that's why I suggested motoman ought to go up above Flat Creek where I've caught crappie on two recent trips. He seemed to be open to that idea.

I also didn't mean to make it sound "easy", and there's a little more to it than casting swimming minnows up on the flats. The thing now is to check every piece of wood and brush up on those flats because crappie are around some of them. That happens every year when the water is warming but still cold, and I think they get up there to be in warmer water that the sun heats. Small male white bass are liable to be on the same sunny flats for the same reason, but they don't bunch up around stumps like the crappie.

Bill, I think all the time you've spent chasing those big green fish has made you underestimate Tablerock as a crappie lake. You know I like to fish Bull Shoals and once in awhile I'll make the drive up to Stockton or Pomme de Terre, but I rate Tablerock right up there with the other lakes for crappie.

skeeter, Yep, it's Lent and my wife and I have had crappie and small white bass filets every Friday - some out of Bull Shoals and some out of Tablerock. I'm not tearin' 'em up yet, but for this early in the season I've been doing pretty good.

[LarryC]

Nothing better than crappie and eggs for breakfast.

Cept for crappie and shrooms. Might be a wee bit cool yet...but time is fast approaching.