Wading Whopper Bite and First on Ned

[Johnsfolly]

I haven't fished in Missouri since the end of May. Issues at work and high water have kept me off the rivers and streams that I fish during the summer. Made plans to fish a small river on Sat.  to fish for smallmouth and plans to head to Bennett's on Sun to fish with my family and some guys from work. I really need to catch some smallmouth and bought a couple of Whopper ploppers to catch the summer top water bite and got the jig heads and Zman plastics to make my first Ned rigs (sorry Dave I picked up another jig head at Bass pro shops in town, I'll see about getting some of yours if the Ned works for me). Floods at Bennett's have the water higher and more off-colored than I like to fish. Ended up not going down to BSP. So I kept my eye on the water levels on the other river with a mid-week 1.5 foot spike, but dropping. So without any more rain the water was still low enough to wade and the fishing should still be good. 3 am Sat. I am up listening to a heavy downpour. Checked the water level - no change. Check the local weather down at the river - 15% chance of rain. Contact friend to update what was going on and discuss options. Stay on plan, meet at 4:30 and head south to the river. Drive through the rain questioning the weather. With a few planned trips blown out by rain already this year, I feel the jynx. "It's not you. It's me!" Rain lightens up as we pass through Jeff City and stops as we get to Westphalia with still a ways to go. May be it will be good and dry day after all. Keep heading south and turn into the access - no rain.

With four fisherman, we spilt with two headed downstream and two headed upstream. I was headed upstream with a guy that does not fish this type of water and has never fished this river before. The long deep, 2-4 foot, slow section of river usually holds some bass. I started with a fluke in baby bass, which is my personal favorite bait for a river like this one. I can cast this bait across all sections of this river and far enough upstream or downstream as needed. It matched the bleeding shiners that dominate the forage and is large enough to attract bigger fish and not too big to catch a lot of mid-sized fish unlike the super fluke. I pointed out a large rock pile on the far bank and mentioned to my partner to cast his plastic crayfish bait to the pile while I fished less productive water upstream. He just couldn't get his baitcaster to get that bait to the pile. It could be a long and unproductive day if he can't find a bait that will get some distance in his cast. Clear and shallow water requires longer casts to not spook your target fish. Most fish you won't see until it takes your bait and you land it.

I put on a Whopper plopper (perch 90) on the line and since the river is deep to our bank, make a cast up stream parallel to the bank. I wanted to see how this bait would fish in this river. I could cast this a long way. I like the action. I'm a little concerned about the line in the water running the bait beneath the surface. I keep my rod tip high to keep the line off the water and to maximize the top water action. Nothing on the first cast. I cast cross the middle of the river but still far upstream. As I get the bait to within 15 feet of me, I see a bass following as I pause the bait. It explodes as I crank it a little more and the fight is on. It's a 10-11" largemouth with a pot belly. My first on the WP!

No more fish following at this spot, move upstream about 50 yards and catch two more fat largemouths casting to the other bank. I mention to my partner that he should try to fish one overhanging tree that I had a couple of blow-ups. Nothing for him yet.

This slower water typically holds more largemouth and not many smallies. I came to catch smallmouth and continued to head upstream to water that was faster and with more rock and boulders than logs. The water upstream was a little faster, but still had a bunch of logs along the one bank. I made casts with the WP and had blow-ups on most. A couple of really big and fat (see a pattern here) green sunfish hit the WP along that bank. I get to a spot where a tree is laying halfway across the river. There are rocks and boulders along the bank and into the river being covered by the tree. I make a couple of WP casts and only get one or to pops and no hook-ups. I see a couple of smallmouth swimming behind me. I switch to the fluke and land my first smallmouth of the day.

Casts to the log and rocks led to several more fat green sunfish. One of my casts hooked over an overhanging limb with the bait suspended in the water. I had a largemouth rip the line off of that limb and head downstream. This was the first 12+" bass of the day. Again it was eating well. I caught several more fish on the fluke. I tried my Ned rig and hung up in the bigger rocks without getting any strikes. I was able tog get it back by walking upstream each time.

My partner was now fishing a crankbait that he could cast well. I had him hopscotch above me upstream. He caught a couple of green sunfish to get his first fish of the day. I knew that were going to get into really decent smallmouth water just upstream. Unfortunately we hit a hole that usually is 2-3' deep where the river hits a bluff at a 50 degree angle. It was only 18" deep in most places due to an influx of gravel. I switched to a black/olive 1/16 oz marabou jig and landed my first northern rock bass, my 36th different species for this year. He caught his first smallmouth just upstream from me in this same hole. We kept going upstream.

I switched back to the fluke going weightless and he put on a pink super fluke with a weighted swimbait hook. This river has lots of 12+" bass, many 13-15" bass and a few 17+" bass.  I saw a seam in the current that suggested a deeper water trough and cast my fluke upstream from that seam and I soon had on my first 14+" smallmouth of the day in hand.

I caught one more 12" smallmouth in the this hole. It's just beautiful water.

Fishing the weighted super fluke just wasn't getting my partner any bites. I gave him a 7" berkely black powerworm with a chartreuse ribbontail as we headed to the next hole upstream. There were water willows along the closest bank and I had him cast parallel to that cover. A 13+" smallmouth hit the bait as it hit the water. unfortunately it broke off as he was landing the fish. Out of the black/chartreuse worms, I gave him a green pumpkin ribbontail and he caught a largemouth off of those same willows. I had two largemouth take my fluke just under a sycamore overhang on the other bank. Now we were into some fish. Upstream at the tail of a long deep hole with lots of rock and wood  along the one bank, there were more brush hanging over some deeper water and I landed my largest smallmouth of the day (15+") on the WP. I switched back to the fluke and got into a pack of smallmouth. Most were 10-12" and one looked like it would top 18". I landed four right off the bat with the fluke, I kept throwing at the large fish, but the smaller ones would hit the baits. I put on a plastic crayfish and caught two more smallies and a few green sunfish. The big fish stayed around but again could not get to the bait. I switched to the green pumpkin power worm and he finally hit the bait, As I was reeling him in he came off. I just had to watch it swim away. My partner was caching his own smallies at the head of the pool. Could it get better than this? I leapfrogged up to this hole.

There was fast water coming into the head of the pool, with a log laying down deflecting the water and big rock, mid-sized rock, and pea gravel bottom. The hole was probably 2-3' deep and I could reach the water just at the head of the pool with my casts. I put back on the WP and it was on. I caught five fat smallmouth all between 11 and 13" and a 13" largemouth. once they stopped rising for the WP, put on the fluke and then the crayfish plastics and landed a couple more smallies. I then put on the Ned rig, since there was a gravel bottom. Made my first cast up by the/under the log and slowly reeled back in bumping along the bottom. Before I knew it a smallmouth was swimming away with the Ned. I caught five more smallmouth and a rock bass all on the Ned in just about as many casts. I lost another smallmouth and two largemouth. One of the smallmouth I had caught with the WP earlier.

My first attempt at building a Ned rig.

My first fish on the Ned.

Ned Rock bass.

I showed the Ned to my partner as he came back down stream towards me. After 5 1/2 hours of fishing we had to head back to the truck so that my partner and my friend could get home by 1:30 pm for work. On the way back downstream I had to try the Ned for the big bass that was still cruising around that hole. First cast another fat rock bass. On the far bank there was a 12" smallmouth hanging by a large rock. I said to my partner to watch the bass and I made a cast just in front of him and it pounded the Ned. He couldn't believe that I just called the shot and caught that fish. I had a witness. I will definitely have to fish the Ned some more.  Ended the day with 54 fish total and five different species. I did not microfish and would likely have caught many more species, since I saw at least three different darters (orangethroat, rainbow, and greensides), two chubs species (creek and hornyhead chubs), two sucker species (northern hog and possibly white suckers) and probably three different minnows. I caught 26 smallmouth with three that were 14-15" and 10 that were 12-13" in length. I didn't catch as many largemouth bass, only 10 fish with four between 12-13" and one 14" fish. All of the largemouth, and most of the other fish had paunches filled with the minnows and crayfish that fill this river. All fish were released to hopefully grow bigger for the next time I get down that way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ham]

Good for you. Glad you got out and caught some fish. 

[Phil Lilley]

Excellent!

[BilletHead]

   Way to go John! Finally getting out is half the battle and then catching is icing on the cake,

BilletHead

[Dances With Smallies]

Great report and pictures. Sounds like a great trip! 

[Johnsfolly]

Thanks guys. Since this river system hasn't been blown out, I took out my better half and daughter to a small trib of this river today will post after we get dinner.

[Johnsfolly]

I may be addicted to the Ned rig. More on that latet.

[marcusearlt]

This is an excellent fishing report. Love the play by play story line. Thank you for sharing.

Sounds a lot like the trips I go on except reduce the fish caught by 2/3's! ha...