One more newbie

[Bill Butts]

These last two seemed to be targeting stripers and catching them. I don't think they were very large, maybe a few pounds, but what they lacked in sze they seemed to make up for with fight. Now actually, truth be told, I can't positively say they were stripers because they could have been white bass, that's just my guess. I forgot to say these guys stayed about twenty or thirty yards off shore then cast some type of white pastics toward the rip rap which is where the fish were. They cast right up to the shore itself and were getting good strikes and catching. Jonathan

Jonathan,

Thanks very much for your detailed post.

Question.

When you said the guys catching whites/hybrids were casting toward the rip rap at the shoreline, was that shoreline reachable by walking or only by boat?

Two of the most popular plastic baits are Sassy Shad and Sluggos.

You didn't happen to take any photos of the discharge area did you?

Thanks again.

[macfish]

macfish here. Butts, I didn't take any pictures even though I had my camera with me. I'm familiar with both Sluggos and shad lures. I don't really know what they were using because I was pretty far away and couldn't really tell what they were. They were casting up almost onto the shore and the places they were casting at were reachable by either boat or by walking. Where they were fishing is a place I wouldn't have chosen. There weren't any other boats getting out or in when they were there but I still wouldn't have been right there. I know on Mark Twin Lake which is mostly administered by the Army Corps of Engineers they prohibit fishing at boat ramps. Now I'm not sure how far that means someone would have to be away from there to be out of the forbidden zone, but these guys were casting almost right at the ramp and catching there. Perhaps that type of restriction doesn't apply at Thomas Hill, I don't know. I'm planning on taking the camera and going back to Thomas Hill again and getting some photos. The only thing about getting to the actual discharge is that you have to climb some fairly steep muddy hills to get there unless you have a boat. It's very tricky place to get to, especially is it's at all wet but it's also somewhat secluded and very pretty looking. Jonathan

[Bill Butts]

macfish,

thanks very much for your follow-up.

a friend of mine called me after reading the article about Thomas Hill and wanted to spend a weekend up there. Surely that created a lot of attention and awareness of the fishery.

I've been told that the colder the winter weather, especially for extended periods of time, the more it draws and concentrates the fish to the warmer water discharge areas on any similar lakes.

I've talked recently with some agents/wardens on a couple of lakes in KS and OK and they said fishing wasn't as good as usual during the winter months due to the very mild winter we're having in the midwest.

I'm assuming the walk-in you described as being somewhat difficult is a legal access isn't it?

Just wanted to be sure.

So do you fish with spinning, baitcasting or fly tackle up there?

Peace.

[macfish]

macfish here. Butts, as far as I know the access is legal because there are no fences or gates or anything like that but it is very difficult because it is a very hilly area and unless you have a boat you'd have to walk or rather climb in. Let me tell you where the warm water discharge is in relation to the boat ramp. The boat ramp is not too far from the power plant. You can see the plant as you're getting close to the boat ramp in fact you have to turn off the road that goes toward the plant to go to the boat ramp. There's a sign that will direct you there. When you go toward the ramp you'll see a small bay in front of you with a small stream coming in from the left. Looking down the ramp there is a bank across from the ramp. If you walk toward the stream (going around to your left) and then to that bank the warm water discharge is directly across the hill that's behind the bank (in other words if you reach the bank then face the boat ramp the warm water discharge is more or less directly behind your back). Walk up and down the bank until you find a path that climbs up from the bank. It's the easist way there. If it's at all wet it can be treacherous. It's pretty heavily wooded with lots of dropped leaves from the oaks with heavy clay mud underneath and you'd be climbing a couple of hills probably 30 to 70 feet high sloped maybe 35 - 45 degree slope. It's no cakewalk. Once you get in there I don't know if the fish swim and eat directly in the warm water discharge. I didn't have time to get down to that bank once I was there to fish directly in the warm water discharge. This place I have described is about a hundred feet in from where the discharge meets the lake which wold be down to the right. I did fish, however, at the point where it enters the lake (to the right). This place can be reached by following the bank around to your left going away from the boat ramp. You can't get to the point if you go down to the warm water discharge. Access to the point is cut off so you'd have to climb back to the bank and the walk around to the left until you reached the point. There were feeding fish there. We caught a couple of small channels but I'm sure there were also bass, crappie and probably other fish there as well. Where it enters the lake it would be probably 50 to 70 feet across and the water is coming out at a pretty high rate of speed, maybe 5 miles per hour? I couldn't tell how deep the water was at the opening to the lake but I'd guess at least three or four feet. I hope this helps. Jonathan

[Bill Butts]

Jonathan,

Thanks very much for your detailed info on the access at Thomas Hill.

I'll save your post to reference when I go up there to give it a shot.

If you seek to catch some of those great Hybrids you will ultimately be rewarded with some great and memorable experiences.

They are truly awesome fish.

Please keep up your enthusiasm and activity on the OA Forum, too.