Bass & Trout

[hookem777]

Floated from Bennet to Barclay, Smallies were slow, trout were biting jerkbaits good caught a limit of rainbows easy and a bunch of brown trout only one brown was a keeper around 16 inches.

[FishinCricket]

Jerkbaits, eh? Interesting.. Did you get any smallies to hit at all? Sounds like you weren't keeping anything, eh? Those bass should be warming up just as soon as the cold snaps go away, then the topwater action will be ON... Til then you are gonna have to shake those smallies loose with a slow mover, like one inch wonder swimming slow, a pig and jig or a maribou (all seem to do just as well for the trout).. Black and white seems to work good...

I have started to see the trout shaking loose and following, so I was able to pick up a quick limit on a spoon (Kastmaster) yesterday, even during the slight weather that came in...

Interesting report.. Glad to hear it, thanks..

BTW Don't the Browns have to be 18 inches on the Niangua? Or has that been reduced? Been a long time since I kept a brown.

[fishinwrench]

15" on Browns....and boy are they scarce.

[FishinCricket]

15" on Browns....and boy are they scarce.

Thanks for the answer, a potential ticket for a brown trout is the closest I have ever gotten to breaking the law on the river here, so I have just released them on the rare occasion I catch them.

[hookem777]

Jerkbaits, eh? Interesting.. Did you get any smallies to hit at all? Sounds like you weren't keeping anything, eh? Those bass should be warming up just as soon as the cold snaps go away, then the topwater action will be ON... Til then you are gonna have to shake those smallies loose with a slow mover, like one inch wonder swimming slow, a pig and jig or a maribou (all seem to do just as well for the trout).. Black and white seems to work good...

I have started to see the trout shaking loose and following, so I was able to pick up a quick limit on a spoon (Kastmaster) yesterday, even during the slight weather that came in...

Interesting report.. Glad to hear it, thanks..

BTW Don't the Browns have to be 18 inches on the Niangua? Or has that been reduced? Been a long time since I kept a brown.

Yeah we've been on the niangua several times this year and the trout hit those jerkbaits since January. Those brown trout are hunters and they tear up jerk baits, big one 6 inch smithwicks. I would say my buddy and I have caught 30- 40 browns this year. I kept the rainbows and threw back all the Bass & browns even the keeper. The smallie's were caught on a spinnerbait and F-7 rapala. The smallies are just slow in that cold spring water i've caught most of mine this year on gitzits around barclay. Early March we caught several nice big mouth around NRO on jerkbaits and jigs. I almost threw a jig and pig in the deep holes on sunday....