Winter 25/26

[top_dollar]

                I haven't been up to Busch a bunch this winter, but I have been a few times, and my brother has gone quite a bit.  It has been borderline froze up the last month or so, but when there is liquid water, the crappie have been biting.  Looks like this coming week will be good.  Crappie have been pretty typical.  At 33, they are best along the brush on the dam.  Small jigs 1-4 feet down.  Most will be dinks, but some eaters are in there.  33 is always stained, and those fish will stay shallow even in the coldest weather.   Clearer lakes will have generally bigger crappie on brush but they will be less numerous, and generally deeper.  4-7 feet.  Target the dams and steeper banks.  I have not done any bass fishing up there all fall or winter.  I did catch a solid musky at lake 35 yesterday afternoon on a crappie jig.  I didn't measure, but I would guess 24 inches or so.  That made for an exciting fight!  

[Quillback]

Musky - very cool!

[Al Agnew]

Dang, wish I would have known you might catch a muskie.  I'm writing and illustrating a book on how to draw, sculpt, and paint fish, for taxidermists, artists, and sculptors, and I need some good photos of muskie viewed from directly above and below (nobody takes such pictures).  I would have had you do so.

[top_dollar]

11 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

Dang, wish I would have known you might catch a muskie.  I'm writing and illustrating a book on how to draw, sculpt, and paint fish, for taxidermists, artists, and sculptors, and I need some good photos of muskie viewed from directly above and below (nobody takes such pictures).  I would have had you do so.

I doubt I will catch another one this spring, as I have only ever caught 2 out of there.  If I do, I will certainly take more and better photos.  It will give me an excuse to actually target them, although I'm sure I'd still have better odds of catching one a crappie jig.  Since Lake 35 is so small, it probably does give someone the best chance at actually catching one in Missouri.  I think the conservation department surveys them with the zapper boat, maybe someone from there would be able to get you some good photos.