Advice Please?

[mrcold]

First of all, I want to say good luck to anyone affected by the mess down there. Hopefully everyone stays safe!

That being said, I really haven't seen ANYTHING about this until right now. Unfortunately, I've been buried in work over the last few weeks leading up to our annual trip down there (from Omaha). Currently, we're supposed to drive down on Tuesday the 3rd, then fish on the 4th through 6th. We're staying down on DD (Fish Hook if I'm allowed to say on here), and have people flying in to Kansas City to pick up on the way.

I've got a few questions on what to do at this point.

Will we even be able to get out on the lake?

If so, would it be rational to do so or is it not a good idea?

Assuming it is ok to get out on the boat:

Is there any point in going out fishing, or will the bite be shut off for a long time now?

We're not usually there for anything other than 3 days of 10+ hours of fishing per day, so it's not really like we would come down anyway and take in a show.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you for any help, and good luck all.

Brian

[Don House]

mrcold, no you will be fine.. Ramps are starting to be open now and I'm catching fish around the Indian Point to Point 7 area ok, so bite is still on.. Just make sure you stay in the clean water areas and away from the rivers.. That is where alot of the bad stuff floating is.. Just be safe and have a good time..

Good Fishing

Capt. Don

[mrcold]

Capt. Don,

Thanks for the quick response! I just brought this up to the other guys right after I posted, and we were already almost to the physical violence stage of the "Well, what are we gonna do?" discussion.

Much appreciated!

Brian

[Cajunangler]

Don, thanks also for the reply. I too was wondering whether or not going to the lake was a good idea. Sorta getting cabin fever and need to go somewhere to fish but was curious about which ramps were currently accessible? I know during the 2008 event I was able to launch at Mill Creek and was wondering if it is useable at this point? And if you know any others that would be decent options for one person I would appreciate the update.

Thanks!

[Don House]

Don, thanks also for the reply. I too was wondering whether or not going to the lake was a good idea. Sorta getting cabin fever and need to go somewhere to fish but was curious about which ramps were currently accessible? I know during the 2008 event I was able to launch at Mill Creek and was wondering if it is useable at this point? And if you know any others that would be decent options for one person I would appreciate the update.

Thanks!

Matter of Fact Mike Webb put in at Mill Creek Today, seen pictures.. Even have a dock.. So you are good.. Enjoy yourself.. Be careful..

Capt. Don

[Cajunangler]

Thanks Don. I was a little concerned because Babler had said the "park" was closed. I guess he meant it was closed for camping activities.

Thanks again. If I don't have to leave too early due to thunderstorms I'll try a post a quick report.

[dtrs5kprs]

Capt. Don,

Thanks for the quick response! I just brought this up to the other guys right after I posted, and we were already almost to the physical violence stage of the "Well, what are we gonna do?" discussion.

Much appreciated!

Brian

You should be able to have a good time, especially if the level stabilizes a bit. That looks like what the COE is doing, maybe to let Bull catch up to the flow. Backyard patio set bite should get going if the water will ever dirty up. I think you will be able to catch them right in the branch Fish Hook is in. Lots to fish there and a good place to stay on DD. Richard used to fish with our local club in Leavenworth.

[mrcold]

Thanks to everyone who gave us some input for the trip...especially you, Don! Sorry I didn't get a chance to call you, but I was standing next to Rich on Tuesday night when you talked to him.

It went pretty well, with a good number of fish being caught (42 fish over 15", with the biggest being a 20" smallie). I'd say about 90-95% of the fish we caught were smallies, with the rest being spots...oh, and I managed to fool one largemouth so I could say I caught all three types.

The water was pretty muddy where we stayed (over on the west side of DD, southeast of Kimberling). We went around to Indian Point a couple times, since this is our "home" water down there. The water was much more clear, and almost everything caught on that side was a spot, almost no smallies.

I've got thousands of dollars in gear in my tackle boxes and dozens of rod/reel combos. If I had gone down with a dozen hooks, a dozen splitshot, two bags of centipedes, and one rod/reel combo, I would've had the same success. NOTHING on topwater (spooks, fins, poppers, etc.), NOTHING on crankbaits, NOTHING on my super-secret Nebraska plastics or special-order California swimbaits...

A decade of trying to figure this lake out, and all I had to do was sit in 20 feet of water, drop my line, and walleye fish just like Dad taught me.

Thanks again for all of the help, and good luck to all of you down there. I hope the mess cleans up soon!

Brian

[SRV1990]

Sounds like it was a good trip Brian. We'll be heading down this Wednesday for about five days, but like you we decided to switch places and are staying at Holiday Hideaway over in Aunts Creek. Even though Techo has insisted there are no fish over there, we are going to try it anyway . Will post some information as time allows.

Tom

[Conman64]

Tom,

I just got back from 4 days at Holiday Hideaway, what a great place. We had a group of 25 and it worked out perfect for us.

Aunts Creek is still very stained, but the spinnerbait bite was on pretty good in the bushes. We also ran down to Indian Point and did great on the smallies with the fish Dr.

Good luck