For Us KC Area Guys - Fishing Reports

[Enphrared]

Cat claw was a little slow this morning. Fished 6-10. Had two big hits near the bank that broke my line fairly quick (10# mono). Other than that, caught two small bass off weightless senko. Lost another rattle trap too. =(

[Ku Xiong]

My two brothers and I headed out to Mound City yesterday before the wind picked up.  We got there at 0700 hours.  This was my first time this year on that water.  We headed towards the lily pads, but this year no lillies.  Aquatic vegetation was thick in the shallows.  We caught the majority on topwater; throwing buzzbait, poppers, and frogs.  A weightless senko landed the biggest of the day.  The wind blew us off the water by 1130 hours.  Caught several smaller bass also.

 

 

 

 

[gardnerjigman]

Frogs, i retrieve with the rod tip up a little. When they blow up on it, i drop the tip, reel the slack and set the hook.

Count to 3. 1 will be dropping the rod tip. 2 is reeling the slack, 3 is setting the hook

This. Rod tip up a little, when you see the blow up stop your retrieve and follow what he said. Nothing worse trying to set the hook with your rod already up and line tight because you continued to reel.

[Bluebasser86]

Went to Poague CA last night and picked a strip pit that was covered in Lillypads all around the edges. I decided on using my Booyah Pad Crasher that I had just bought recently . I have never used a frog before but I made it my goal this year to get out of my comfort zone since I almost always fish spinnerbaits or A 7.5 worm texas rigged.

I watched a lot of videos on the way to use a frog and It seemed to be getting a lot of interest with numerous explosions on it but I don't know if I was setting the hook to early or to late but I was unable to hook into one. So I got the d**n thing stuck in the tree and had to break my line, luckily the frog fell right in my kayak so I didn't lose it. I decided to tie on a buzzbait and caught numerous smaller bass and nothing spectacular. Not even one of them went for 2#s.

So far since deciding to learn new techniques and using different lures like the senko, shakeyhead and wacky rig, it has been a tough season so far. I think I will come out better in the end but d**n it's hard right now.

Braid is the only way to go with a frog too. That improved my hook up ratio with frogs more than anything else. 

 

You guys throw them on twist lock hooks also?

You'll give up on fishing if you ever try to put a Zman bait on a twistlock    I use a regular 5/0 EWG for toads. 

[Gary0155]

Went to Lake Lenexa for the first time today. Only caught two small bass on a swimjig but pulled in about 50lbs of vegetation. That lake is covered in vegetation. From what everyone there was saying it's always like that. Still not a bad little lake and great for kayaks.

[Bluebasser86]

Mondo Tackle is going to have Brent Chapman and Casey Scanlon there on July 10th doing a meet and great and answering questions. Not sure exactly what time but just in case anyone is interested in stopping in there to meet them. 

[Hi Salenity]

Wow that's cool!!! Does everyone want to meet up?

[Hi Salenity]

Hey I'm going to throw this out. Me and the wife and kids are going to take the boat to Miola lake at Paola on Thursday to watch the fireworks. If you have a boat and kids it's a great time. The kids can swim till dark then you set in your boat and have the best seat in the house for the fireworks display.

The place will be packed but it's a great time.

[Bluebasser86]

Wow that's cool!!! Does everyone want to meet up?

I'm going to try to be there provided it's at a time my work schedule allows. Brent is very personable and takes time to answer everyone's questions anytime I've been around him. Haven't ever really talked to Casey but always good to meet a hometown pro. 

[pbrussell]

Speaking of Casey, There's a few things I have to mention about that fellow. Firstly (shameless plug), everybody get yourself a subscription to Bass Quest magazine. The latest issue rolling out features on article on Casey showcasing topwater tactics, written by me! yay!

 

Secondly, I was out on la cygne yesterday and Casey was out there. Pretty fun running into a pro on the lake.

That's all.

[cbass12]

Just got back from our week long vacation at The Rock. Had a great time, caught a lot of fish. FIshing was tough but we caught enough to make it fun. Most fish came in 15-25 FOW on either finesse jigs or the Ned. The best part of the week was getting my 22 month old son into the water and on the boat. He had a blast swimming, and he even started to figure out how to dog paddle which was very exciting.

 

Our resort

 

First night, both fish on a 3/8 oz football shakyhead and big texan color pit boss

 

Drop shot around the KC bridge

 

Healthy spot on the Ned in the cut next to our dock

 

Chunky 14" smallie on the Ned out of one of the boat slips on the dock during a storm. There were 5 or 6 other fish (mix of smallies and spots) that came up with it, my dad flipped the Ned in front of them and had a nice spot on for a couple seconds but lost it. Pretty cool to watch happen in the clear water.

Another one during the storm on a football shaky and mag finesse worm

 

My dad with the biggest of the week, probably around 3 1/2 pounds and a very healthy fish. Caught on a football jig off the front of the dock. The fish had apparently swallowed a wobble head and had almost passed it, the head was sticking out it's butt but the hook was stuck inside. You can barely see it in the picture, will probably end up killing the fish.

 

Another off the front of the dock on a finesse jig, around 3 lbs.

 

Got this one Friday morning on a finesse jig in 20' around some standing timber.

Same morning on the Ned, fish was a little goofy looking

 

One of my last fish, a stocky LM off the bridge to the dock on the Ned

My boy was a fan of it

[Islander Sportsman]

Going to give either Melvern or Perry a shot... some of you may know that I moved here from Texas (strictly saltwater fisherman) and went out bought a boat and have spent the last year fishing Lake Olathe and Hillsdale really trying to get used to the style of fishing (which is way different). Anyhow, I think Im ready to make the drive to other lakes now that I have a better understanding of how to fish for bass...

 

Which lake tends to be a better producer? Perry is half the distance, but im really wanting to get into some LMbass for some catch and release fun... and any tips on where or what you fish would be greatly appreciated.. ive already backlogged all the older posts, so i was hoping for some recent activity.

 

and if you have any crappie insight for either lake that would be greatly appreciated too..

 

Thanks guys!

[SuperFluke]

Going to give either Melvern or Perry a shot... some of you may know that I moved here from Texas (strictly saltwater fisherman) and went out bought a boat and have spent the last year fishing Lake Olathe and Hillsdale really trying to get used to the style of fishing (which is way different). Anyhow, I think Im ready to make the drive to other lakes now that I have a better understanding of how to fish for bass...

 

Which lake tends to be a better producer? Perry is half the distance, but im really wanting to get into some LMbass for some catch and release fun... and any tips on where or what you fish would be greatly appreciated.. ive already backlogged all the older posts, so i was hoping for some recent activity.

 

and if you have any crappie insight for either lake that would be greatly appreciated too..

 

Thanks guys!

 

I fished perry last Wed.  It wasn't hot and heavy, but you could catch a few lm and sm in the usual places identified on here.  The private docks in rock creek, the manmade riprap around the big marinas, the manmade point guarding the rock creek marina are all solid producers and close by if you put in at the state ramp.  The drum were all over the dam.  I tried one offshore hump that had some rock, but only caught one white bass on a deep crank.  I know a couple years ago perry was discussed pretty heavily by those on the board, and there's some good info back in those posts that I always look back on before I go out there. 

 

I'll always pick Melvern over most any other lake around KC just because you can usually catch good numbers of sm with occasional 3+ lb fish thrown in.  If you run into a lm out there, it's usually a good one.  It's also much less crowded than perry, clinton, hillsdale, etc.  The reports lately haven't been encouraging, but I can almost guarantee you'll catch fish if you go down the dam for awhile.

[Islander Sportsman]

Thanks! for the quick response and willingness to share some info!

 

were going to get back out to Lake Olathe today... we went out yesterday and had a pretty good day.. all on a Texas rigged worm. going to have to battle the wind again, but most of the time the wind gave us the perfect drift along the shore... lost a good sized one that wrapped up in the prop and never surfaced... lesson learned

[Bluebasser86]

Going to give either Melvern or Perry a shot... some of you may know that I moved here from Texas (strictly saltwater fisherman) and went out bought a boat and have spent the last year fishing Lake Olathe and Hillsdale really trying to get used to the style of fishing (which is way different). Anyhow, I think Im ready to make the drive to other lakes now that I have a better understanding of how to fish for bass...

 

Which lake tends to be a better producer? Perry is half the distance, but im really wanting to get into some LMbass for some catch and release fun... and any tips on where or what you fish would be greatly appreciated.. ive already backlogged all the older posts, so i was hoping for some recent activity.

 

and if you have any crappie insight for either lake that would be greatly appreciated too..

 

Thanks guys!

If you're really just wanting to catch largemouth, then I'd go to Perry, but Melvern is by far the better of the two for bass in general as it has great smallmouth, and decent largemouth with the occasional spotted bass too. It was rough fishing last time I was out there, but Casey Scanlon was there a few days ago and appears to have done well.

http://www.felixfishing.com/2014/06/smallmouth-pictures/

 

Olathe is a good lake that I fish often because it's so close. I know there's some big ones in there but I have yet to get one over 4.5 from there. As much as I fish a big swimbait there, it's just a matter of time. 

[lineman82637]

you need to try leavenworth state lake  . the lake is a great little lake to catch numbers of LM  been catching some 4 and 5 out of there lately . most of the time you can catch fish all day

[lineman82637]

Does anyone have knowledge of Milford Lake ? I have a tourney coming up and have only fished it once .  Any one of the creeks better ?

[joefish]

you need to try leavenworth state lake  . the lake is a great little lake to catch numbers of LM  been catching some 4 and 5 out of there lately . most of the time you can catch fish all day

How is the water level? Is the boat ramp deep enough to launch a bass boat? Haven't been there for a couple years due to low water.

[Hi Salenity]

A couple from Today. The kids have hats and sunglasses in the boat but like any other kid if you tell them to smile the sun is instantly too bright and they just make a funny face.

I did find a magical spot today, I found a spot that had Wipers busting Shad like crazy. It was almost more action than I'd seen before. I basically caught 5 in a row and they stopped biting. I had to chose left or right and I guess I chose the wrong way. I chased after a few splashes but I couldn't get back on them??? I guess I need to get a decent fish finder?

[Bluebasser86]

Does anyone have knowledge of Milford Lake ? I have a tourney coming up and have only fished it once .  Any one of the creeks better ?

Depends on if you want to chase largemouth or smallmouth. Smallmouth are way more plentiful and get nearly as big as the largemouth, but most every largemouth you catch will be a solid keeper fish. Send me a PM if you want and I'll try to point you in the right direction. 

[gardnerjigman]

Not that this has anything to do with fishing, but where can a guy buy fireworks around Gardner? Not use to living in a place where fireworks are illegal...

 

Thanks guys.

[LVAngler]

I would suggest going east just over the state line.  Crazy Joe's off 171st and Holmes is great. It is the parking lot of Sneads BBQ.  In Missouri you can get alot more than Kansas.  If your just looking for some small stuff for the kids then there are a few good spots off 169 hwy in Spring Hill.

[Islander Sportsman]

If you're really just wanting to catch largemouth, then I'd go to Perry, but Melvern is by far the better of the two for bass in general as it has great smallmouth, and decent largemouth with the occasional spotted bass too. It was rough fishing last time I was out there, but Casey Scanlon was there a few days ago and appears to have done well.

http://www.felixfishing.com/2014/06/smallmouth-pictures/

 

Olathe is a good lake that I fish often because it's so close. I know there's some big ones in there but I have yet to get one over 4.5 from there. As much as I fish a big swimbait there, it's just a matter of time. 

Thanks again for the response. We went to Olathe Lake that day and hammered the LM... we didn't catch any to really brag about, but we caught a ton...

 

Yesterday evening we went out and put in at the Rock Creek ramp... started off throwing a crankbait off the rip rap and i immediately hooked into a good sized drum.. We didn't have much luck on that stretch so we decided to wing it and cruise around looking for spots that looked promising... every spot we stopped at produced some LM... it was awesome, until we ran out of daylight... Were going back out tomorrow morning and going to spend the entire day out there to hit those same areas and then look for some more. All the fish were good sized tournament fish... again, everything caught on a texas rigged worm... minus the drum.

 

Also, drum here are considered trash fish? In Texas on the gulf coast (where im from) its the norm to keep them and eat them... does anyone here keep them for the deep fryer? I almost did, but remembered people not to high on them...

[pbrussell]

Please, please, please- take all the drum you want out of that lake. All of them.

[Bluebasser86]

Thanks again for the response. We went to Olathe Lake that day and hammered the LM... we didn't catch any to really brag about, but we caught a ton...

 

Yesterday evening we went out and put in at the Rock Creek ramp... started off throwing a crankbait off the rip rap and i immediately hooked into a good sized drum.. We didn't have much luck on that stretch so we decided to wing it and cruise around looking for spots that looked promising... every spot we stopped at produced some LM... it was awesome, until we ran out of daylight... Were going back out tomorrow morning and going to spend the entire day out there to hit those same areas and then look for some more. All the fish were good sized tournament fish... again, everything caught on a texas rigged worm... minus the drum.

 

Also, drum here are considered trash fish? In Texas on the gulf coast (where im from) its the norm to keep them and eat them... does anyone here keep them for the deep fryer? I almost did, but remembered people not to high on them...

You left right when it was about to get really good. Perry is a great night fishing lake, and that's when the big girls come out to play during the summer out there.

 

My uncle eats about everything that swims in the lakes in Kansas and he swears that drum are the best eating of all of them, even above walleye and crappie. I'm not a fish eater but if you like fish I'd certainly suggest trying it. They eat mostly craws, clams, and mussels and very little junk so there's no reason why they shouldn't be good eating. If you find a taste for them you're in luck, there's probably no less than a few thousand of them on the rip rap by Rock Creek Marina on any given day. Not many of the reservoirs (or lakes for that matter), in Kansas that don't have healthy drum populations either.