Lake Niangua To Lead Mine

[Goggle-Eyed]

I am headed to Lake Niangua around lunch today. Gonna put the Jet in and run up to Bird Island or LeadMine and fish my way back down. Report will be posted tonight or tomorrow. Hopefully the Smallies will be tearing it up!!!

Joe

[Ozarkroots]

Please report....I did well last weekend in that stretch and I'm thinking about doing it next weekend as well. Watch the darn swans!

[Goggle-Eyed]

The fishing was okay today. I ran up to about a mile below lead mine and then started fishing. We caught several smallies and a few goggle-eyes. The fishing shut off about 2:30pm and picked back up around 4:30. We caught most everything on soft plastics and a few on crank baits. biggest fish was 12-13". I was a little dissapointed in the day.

Joe

[Ozarkroots]

The fishing was okay today. I ran up to about a mile below lead mine and then started fishing. We caught several smallies and a few goggle-eyes. The fishing shut off about 2:30pm and picked back up around 4:30. We caught most everything on soft plastics and a few on crank baits. biggest fish was 12-13". I was a little dissapointed in the day.

Joe

Were you catching any on jigs? How deep were most of them? I think I'm gonna head that way saturday and run that same route.

[Goggle-Eyed]

I wouldn'nt waste my time fishing anywhere from about six miles above Lead Mine down to Lake Niangua. This part of the river is terrible and there really aren't any fish there. I would only fish from Bennett down to Oldham's take out. Anything further down is a true waste of time!

Most everything was in "deeper" water and heavily dependant on having current near by. I only threw t-rigged plastic's or crankbaits. I did peg the sinker and did okay like that as well.

While we were fishing around Berry Bluff there were 3 boat loads of guys floating through. I asked where they put in and they said "shoestring" (not sure where that is?) and they asked me how much further to Mill Creek. I told them I hadn't been on this stretch of river since the late 90's but I was pretty sure that it was above Berry Bluff (which is where I was talking to the guys at). The ring leader of the group got a little perturbed that I was pretty positive they had floated past their take out and assured the other two boat loads that HE knew where the h@ll they were at. They then paddled on down stream. We continued discussing where we thought we were and where we thought Mill Creek was and kept looking for a take out or for where Mill Creek came in... We finally decided to call it a day and head back to the launch ramp around 5pm and noticed the three boats sitting at "camp cherry mountain's" take out (which happens to be the last riffle before Lake Niangua. Two guys were sitting there in lawn chairs and the others int he group had climbed to the top of the hill to call and have someone bring them their truck. The obnoxious guy wasn't there (he was walking), while I felt sorry for them I couldn't help but think how little preperation they must have done for a trip like that.

Joe