For Us KC Area Guys - Fishing Reports

[Dirtyeggroll]

On 8/26/2018 at 12:03 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Plastics on the riprap fished slow is usually my best bait this time of year. Going to be real hot, I'd get there as early as you can or stay late if possible. Light weights come through those rocks better for me, bigger ones just slam down in the rocks and stay there. Cranks are great if you don't care what you catch. 

Thanks! Any other intel on La Cygne? Is it a clear, muddy or stained lake? Are there offshore brush/rockpiles worth searching for?

[Bluebasser86]

19 minutes ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

Thanks! Any other intel on La Cygne? Is it a clear, muddy or stained lake? Are there offshore brush/rockpiles worth searching for?

Stained to dirty, not really much brush other than fallen trees. Rocks are all pretty obvious. 

[Dirtyeggroll]

1 minute ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Stained to dirty, not really much brush other than fallen trees. Rocks are all pretty obvious. 

Thanks! Planning on going primarily to scope it out, so we can have a better lay of the land when its "on".

[Bluebasser86]

8 hours ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

Thanks! Planning on going primarily to scope it out, so we can have a better lay of the land when its "on".

Be careful running around out there if you don't know it, there's lots of big logs floating at or just below the surface that are hard to see that will steal your lower unit. Mainly north of the main boat ramp.

[Dirtyeggroll]

On 7/11/2018 at 3:47 PM, Russ E said:

fished La Cygne today. water temp in north half of lake was over 100 degrees. found some 93 degrees water on the southern end. caught nine bass total.

6 short fish in the shallows.

One anorexic 18 incher that weighed 2 lbs. off of the dam, on a swim  jig.

 These 2 on a trick worm in 10ft. of water, off of a rip rap point.

one was 21 inches 5lb. 12oz. (my largest of 2018).

the other was 19 inches 4lb. 8oz.

 

What color trick worm?

[Russ E]

2 hours ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

What color trick worm?

black

On 8/31/2018 at 6:19 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Be careful running around out there if you don't know it, there's lots of big logs floating at or just below the surface that are hard to see that will steal your lower unit. Mainly north of the main boat ramp.

that is one thing I learned right away on that lake. there is a lot of shallow water, with logs.

[Drew03cmc]

Hey, I have some stuff I wanted to offer up locally. 

 

Castaway Pro Sport 7'3" Mag Bass, again, killer frog and flipping rod. $45
Daiwa Aird X 6'6 M casting rod with BPS WM05H casting reel on it spooled with 10lb CXX. I like this combo for Trick Worms and other light baits, 90 Ploppers, etc. $50 or 35 for just the rod. 

All are used, the Castaway and Aird very lightly. 

I also have a Kastking Spartacus, nearly new, spooled with 30lb braid. It balances and works well with either of these sticks. 
$30

PM for pics of rods/reels

 

The fishing here lately has been rough, but I've stuck a few small fish on the Huddgill. 

 

[Bluebasser86]

Been on Melvern a few times the last few weeks, guide trips and for fun with dad last week. Been nice to see that lake actually producing a little again.

[skunked_again]

Lake Shawnee put up good numbers, had 3 keepers in the boat, 3 that made it to the side of the boat. The Smallies are coming along. P&M Pacemaker and a Keitech Swing Impact, big square bills.

12 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Been on Melvern a few times the last few weeks, guide trips and for fun with dad last week. Been nice to see that lake actually producing a little again.

 

To this day I still love that place. About a month from now it should really be on.

 

[Lincoln]

I made it back out to Perry yesterday and it was rough to say the least. Other than my step daughter snagging a 3’ carp on a grub we didn’t catch a thing. I’m hoping to go again either Tuesday or Wednesday, I’m thinking something other than Perry, I’m just not sure where. 

[Dirtyeggroll]

La Cygne was tough today. Caught 6 fish biggest was 15”.

 

3 on a ledge with a jig in about 12-15’ feet of water by the bank southeast of the dam.

 

1 on a weedline on the Mideast bank.

 

1 on a deep crank on long underwater point in about 12’ of water.

 

Watched a guy catch a nice one on a squarebill on rip-rap. Fished lots of rip rap with soft plastics and cranks and didn’t get a whiff.

 

Talked to some guys at the ramp that said they ran up the creek and caught some nice ones... but that’s just Dock talk so who knows.

[Russ E]

 

1 hour ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

La Cygne was tough today. Caught 6 fish biggest was 15”.

 

3 on a ledge with a jig in about 12-15’ feet of water by the bank southeast of the dam.

 

1 on a weedline on the Mideast bank.

 

1 on a deep crank on long underwater point in about 12’ of water.

 

Watched a guy catch a nice one on a squarebill on rip-rap. Fished lots of rip rap with soft plastics and cranks and didn’t get a whiff.

 

Talked to some guys at the ramp that said they ran up the creek and caught some nice ones... but that’s just Dock talk so who knows.

The wonderful lake called La Cygne. Full of large bass, but they don't always bite.

At least you didn't get skunked.

It is my favorite lake around here, but it has skunked me more than once.

1 hour ago, Lincoln said:

I made it back out to Perry yesterday and it was rough to say the least. Other than my step daughter snagging a 3’ carp on a grub we didn’t catch a thing. I’m hoping to go again either Tuesday or Wednesday, I’m thinking something other than Perry, I’m just not sure where. 

If I lived in Topeka, Shawnee would be my destination.From a previous post, it sounds like the smallies are biting there.

[Dirtyeggroll]

32 minutes ago, Russ E said:

 

The wonderful lake called La Cygne. Full of large bass, but they don't always bite.

At least you didn't get skunked.

It is my favorite lake around here, but it has skunked me more than once.

Would love to meet you out there sometime.

[Russ E]

7 minutes ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

Would love to meet you out there sometime.

With my schedule, I usually fish during the weekdays. Lately, Wednesday has been La Cygne day for me.

@Bluebasser86 is the Veteran at La Cygne. 

[Lincoln]

37 minutes ago, Russ E said:

If I lived in Topeka, Shawnee would be my destination.From a previous post, it sounds like the smallies are biting there.

It really is a good lake, and I enjoy going to it. There is a good chance that will be it, but I’ve never went to Lone Star so I’ve considered giving it a try. And Melvern looks like it’s worth a trip too. It was almost the only lake I’d go to 3-4 years ago when I first got my boat and was living south of Carbondale. Since moving to Topeka 2 years ago I’ve only made it down there once 

[Bluebasser86]

11 hours ago, skunked_again said:

Lake Shawnee put up good numbers, had 3 keepers in the boat, 3 that made it to the side of the boat. The Smallies are coming along. P&M Pacemaker and a Keitech Swing Impact, big square bills.

 

 

To this day I still love that place. About a month from now it should really be on.

 

Shawnee has produced at least 2 smallies over 6 in the last few years, one just a few ounces off the state record. I had one nearly 5 out there a couple years ago. They're pretty established I'd say and with the zebra mussels in there it could really be a consistently good place to catch big smallmouth in the future. 

 

Melvern is one of my favorites but it was awful for a couple years, taking 2 or 3 fish to win tournaments with 20-30 boats and big fish of the day being less than 3 pounds pretty often. It's weird how those zebra mussels died off and the fish just seemed to disappear. They're still there unless there was some big die off that nobody knows about. The last few trips out there I've been seeing way more fish again with lots of those little finger sized smallies that love to follow baits. Seeing some of those over 18 inchers again is really reassuring that the fish are still in there. I've been seeing some mussels coming back on the rocks too. Never thought I'd be excited to see those things but that lake sure exploded when they showed up. It may never be like it was in 2014-2015 again, but I'm just fine with it being like it has been the last few weeks. If it stays like it is where a good fisherman can still go catch 20-30 smallmouth a day but a weekend warrior is going to struggle a lot harder it helps keeps some of the pressure off. When it wasn't even hard to go catch 50-100 fish a trip, that lake was getting pounded so hard that I think it really took it's toll. 

6 hours ago, Russ E said:

With my schedule, I usually fish during the weekdays. Lately, Wednesday has been La Cygne day for me.

@Bluebasser86 is the Veteran at La Cygne. 

I'm a weekday guy too with my work schedule. I usually fish by myself (not counting my dog), but I don't mind someone jumping in with me, just don't expect any magical results. The big fish on La Cygne are the results of a lot of hours on the water not catching fish to catch those big ones. 

[Russ E]

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Shawnee has produced at least 2 smallies over 6 in the last few years, one just a few ounces off the state record. I had one nearly 5 out there a couple years ago. They're pretty established I'd say and with the zebra mussels in there it could really be a consistently good place to catch big smallmouth in the future. 

 

Melvern is one of my favorites but it was awful for a couple years, taking 2 or 3 fish to win tournaments with 20-30 boats and big fish of the day being less than 3 pounds pretty often. It's weird how those zebra mussels died off and the fish just seemed to disappear. They're still there unless there was some big die off that nobody knows about. The last few trips out there I've been seeing way more fish again with lots of those little finger sized smallies that love to follow baits. Seeing some of those over 18 inchers again is really reassuring that the fish are still in there. I've been seeing some mussels coming back on the rocks too. Never thought I'd be excited to see those things but that lake sure exploded when they showed up. It may never be like it was in 2014-2015 again, but I'm just fine with it being like it has been the last few weeks. If it stays like it is where a good fisherman can still go catch 20-30 smallmouth a day but a weekend warrior is going to struggle a lot harder it helps keeps some of the pressure off. When it wasn't even hard to go catch 50-100 fish a trip, that lake was getting pounded so hard that I think it really took it's toll. 

I'm a weekday guy too with my work schedule. I usually fish by myself (not counting my dog), but I don't mind someone jumping in with me, just don't expect any magical results. The big fish on La Cygne are the results of a lot of hours on the water not catching fish to catch those big ones. 

I mentioned your name, because your success rate at La Cygne seemed better than mine. 

I also usually fish alone and don't mind someone jumping in with me. My success at La Cygne has been spotty. A few really good days, with several slow ones, but hooking into a 5+ pound bass can quickly change things.

[Bluebasser86]

31 minutes ago, Russ E said:

I mentioned your name, because your success rate at La Cygne seemed better than mine. 

I also usually fish alone and don't mind someone jumping in with me. My success at La Cygne has been spotty. A few really good days, with several slow ones, but hooking into a 5+ pound bass can quickly change things.

I've been fishing it regularly for half my life, it still beats me sometimes. I think once you accept that you're fishing for a few big bites instead of lots of fish, it makes it much easier to catch the bigger fish on that lake. I've had amazing numbers days there, but they're few and far between. I'm still looking for one of the true giants out there though. I've caught quite a few over 7, up to 7.76, but I've never cracked 8. A friend of mine caught a 9 1/4 a few years ago on a technique I'd just shown him how to do the day before ? 

[Dirtyeggroll]

On 9/3/2018 at 1:06 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

 

I'm a weekday guy too with my work schedule. I usually fish by myself (not counting my dog), but I don't mind someone jumping in with me, just don't expect any magical results. The big fish on La Cygne are the results of a lot of hours on the water not catching fish to catch those big ones. 

 

23 hours ago, Russ E said:

I mentioned your name, because your success rate at La Cygne seemed better than mine. 

I also usually fish alone and don't mind someone jumping in with me. My success at La Cygne has been spotty. A few really good days, with several slow ones, but hooking into a 5+ pound bass can quickly change things.

I’m sure there are a ton of the lake’s quirks to learn from both of you.

 

In reality, I will probably only ever make it out there a couple times a year. It’s a good halfway for my dad and I to fish together. Both of us have hectic schedules, so the chances of those stars aligning are slim.

 

I was really surprised at how few boats were on the lake for a holiday weekend. The campsites were full but there were only 6 trailers at the boat ramp when we started and even fewer when we left. At least 2 of those were catfishing.

 

The water temp was 90 north of the main boat ramp and 84-85 toward the dam.

[Bluebasser86]

17 hours ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

 

I’m sure there are a ton of the lake’s quirks to learn from both of you.

 

In reality, I will probably only ever make it out there a couple times a year. It’s a good halfway for my dad and I to fish together. Both of us have hectic schedules, so the chances of those stars aligning are slim.

 

I was really surprised at how few boats were on the lake for a holiday weekend. The campsites were full but there were only 6 trailers at the boat ramp when we started and even fewer when we left. At least 2 of those were catfishing.

 

The water temp was 90 north of the main boat ramp and 84-85 toward the d**n.

No pleasure boating/skiing/swimming allowed, so it doesn't lend itself well to a typically family oriented holiday weekend. Works perfectly for those of us trying to avoid all those shenanigans though. 

[Lincoln]

I decided to not let the rain stop me today and went to Lake Shawnee. And it paid off with the lake to myself, and my best bass of the year weighing in a 3 lbs and 15 oz. Spinnerbaits, keitechs, jerkbaits, and a jig all caught fish, with spinnerbaits working the best. I have a couple pictures but I can’t upload them because they are too big, any hints on how to get that fixed? 

[Lincoln]

i did some searching on the forum so we will see if this did it?

[KCFinesse]

3 hours ago, Lincoln said:

i did some searching on the forum so we will see if this did it?

Looks great! Nice fish

-Jared

[Lincoln]

Thank you! 

[Bluebasser86]

Anyone go to Melvern this weekend? Wondering if they got hammered by the rain. Was thinking of going Friday but don't want to make the drive if the water got muddy.