Bill Dance: Slip Corkin' on Crappie

Since I wasn't able to get out this weekend I thought I would share a tip about crappie fishing from on of the greatest anglers I know. In this video Bill Dance will show you how to use a slip cork and the advantages it gives when fishing for crappie. I love this guy and I think he is living the life I want to live, lol! I will late post some jig from my tackle box and explain why I love to use them.

Fishing Notes

If you or someone you know went fishing this past weekend and didn't have very much luck here is probably why. With the recent change in weather, hot to cold, the spawning beds are to cool for the fish to stay on. They have moved back from the banks to warmer waters. So if you have been fishing from the banks in about 2-5 feet of water cast out a little further. Try to get your bait out to at least 12-18 feet of water and work it back to you slow. When it's cold like this the fish tend to move and reach slower than normal so leave you bait in the strike zone a little longer that normal. Be patient the fish are there, just like you they need time to adjust to the changes in water temp. Be prepared for a longer and slower day than usual, the fish will come. Good Luck....

Stolen Weekend

This weekend was a long weekend for me. I attended my first battle assembly with my new unit in Emporia, KS. We where schedule for an overnight weekend at Fort Riley, KS, home of my deployment, in order to qualify on the M16 and the 249 SAW. I knew before hand that when you go on weekend like this you shouldn't expect much to happen and just go with the flow of things. It was like I said my first time drill with this unit so I left my expectation of this unit at home. I'm glad I did. It turn out to be better than I imagined.  It did have it rough point but not due to the soldiers I had just met. The weather play a big part in the weekend events. It started out to be a great day but the rain moved in around 8:30 am and I hadn't been issued any rain gear. For me the rest of the day was cold and wet. Lucky for me there was nearby shelter and the rain came and went but I never knew how trying standing in wind and rain can be. When we got back to the barracks all I wanted to do is sleep but with the after action meeting, NCO meeting and the tornado warning sleep had to take a back seat. In the end it turned out okay. I got home Sunday evening around 6:15, had a wonderful dinner waiting for me, got a chance to watch part of "The Help" and sleep with ease knowing that I was in my own bed.



A quite cove at the lake.

Morning on the dock.

 Even though it was cold I still had a great morning. These are some of the good parts of my morning.

Ain't God Grand!



Okay I took a chance knowing that the weather was going to be cool and tried to see if the fish where bitting today. I started out later than I normally would.If it had been warmer I would have hit the lake by six. It was about 64 degrees when I left home an if I would have to guest another 3-5 degrees cooler when I got to the dock. Scared it might rain on me while I was out I desided to go to Lake Jacomo and fish off the docks. I knew fishing from the dock during the spawn would be challanging but what's good fishing without a good challange. Beside the dock shelter would keep me dry if it started to rain and I didn't feel like getting wet this morning. Sadly to say fishing was really slow this morning. The change in the weather over the last few days has forced the fish back out to deeper water. I don't imagine they have went to far out but they where not on the beds, beds-area of rocks that are in 1-8 feet of water where the female lays her eggs, that is right off the bank. When the spawn is in season you can catch fish of the beds all day long. A little tip for you there. Sudden change in water temps can really crew up a fishing trip. I'm hoping that it gets warmer within the next few days. Cold fronts like this can really screw up my chance of getting out on the lake. I love to go fishing but I hate it when it's windy an cold.

Easter Weekend

With the weekend looking as good as it is I thought I would give you the forcast for this weekend and a list of some of my favorite spots to fish in the area, Happy Easter Everyone.

•  BLUE SPRINGS: 64 degrees, clear, normal. Outlook: Forty Woods Bait and Tackle reports: crappies excellent on jigs, minnows along the riprap and in the timber.
•  SMITHVILLE: 65 degrees, clear, 11/2 feet low. Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: crappies excellent on jigs, minnows near the mouths of the coves (fish are staging for the spawn); walleyes fair on jerkbaits, shallow-running crankbaits along the dam (spawn is coming to an end); black bass fair on spinnerbaits, jigs in the coves; channel catfish fair on night crawlers in the back of coves.

JACOMO: 64 degrees, clear, normal. Outlook: Forty Woods Bait and Tackle reports: crappies good on jigs, minnows out from spawning banks (fish are staging for the spawn); catfish fair on night crawlers off points.

• STOCKTON: 65 degrees, clear, 1 foot high. Outlook: Stockton Lake Guide Service reports: crappies good to very good on jigs, grubs in 7 to 8 feet of water along spawning areas; walleyes good on jigs, grubs in 10 to 12 feet of water in rocky areas; bass good on soft plastic lures, jigs in 2 to 6 feet of water along spawning banks.
•  HILLSDALE: 70 degrees, clearing, 1 foot high. Outlook: Jayhawk Marina reports: crappies excellent on jigs, minnows in 5 feet of water (fish are moving in to spawn); white bass good on Road Runners off rocky banks; catfish fair on cut bait, night crawlers.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/04/3536872/fishing-report-for-april-5.html#storylink=cpy

Family Time at the Lake

This past Friday my wife called me at work and asked what where my plans for Saturday. Being married for as long as I have been I was a little curious because she rarely calls and ask that question unless she has something for me to do. I told her that I planned to help a co-worker move around and then help my cousin rake some leaves at a home he was hired to rake. Fearing that my entire Saturday may be robbed by her inquiry I didn't tell her I also planned to go fishing early that morning before I would go help them. Taking a chance I ask "why, what's going on"?  To my surprise she wanted me to push back the moving time because she wanted us to go fishing as a family. I was so excited I almost told her what I was thing but I had to play it cool so I would lose ground for my next fishing day. I arranged for us to go out to her adopted family, her childhood friends parents, home in Olathe. I must admit it was one of the best ideas of the year. We had one of those great times with family you only hear about in stories or see on television. My oldest daughter catch and released about 20 blue gill, she caught the most out of all of us. I caught about 12 six of them where keepers but the catch of the day went to my wife. She didn't catch as many as my daughter but she did catch the fish of the day. Now I don't know how much it weighted but it was one of the biggest she has ever caught on her own. See caught a hybrid stripped bass (wipper) that gave her a fight that she will never forget. Now you are probably asking what happen to my youngest daughter? How did she do? Well she didn't. She didn't fish because she wanted to play. The home we went to sits on the lake alone with serval other homes who have swings and play sets lined up alone the lake and she know this so she had her day planned before we left the house. We only saw her when it was time for a water break. So as you can see we had a great time and I'm glad I didn't mess thing up by being selfish and wanting to spend the day at the lake alone. So my advice to you if you haven't had a chance to get out to the lake this year, even if you don't fish, get out there anyway. This time of year the weather is great and the fun you will have as family will be priceless.

Where are all the Walleye

On a recent trip to Longview Lake my girls and I wanted to get a feel of how the fishing was going so far this season. Since the weather has been up and down water temps haven't gotten to the idea temp for the Kansas City area to produce the quality of fishing local anglers are waiting for. So much so it has gotten the Department of Conservation puzzles to sudden decline in the walleye population at Longview Lake. Walleye are one of the first fish to spawn in the spring. Spawning typically begins when water temperatures exceed 46°F but on a recent count of the walleye at Longview Lake. DoC where only able to harvest about 50 walleye in an area that normally population produce over 200-300 walleye. I spoke to a ranger on duty and he could only say that the only plan they have in mind is to restock before the spawning season end. If you are interested in walleye fishing and want to know more check out this link it will tell you all you need to know about walleye fishing in Missouri. http://mdc.mo.gov/fishing/fish-catch/game-fish/walleye. Also you can contact the Longview marina at (816) 966-0131 to get a daily fishing report.

mommaD

Diana you hit a soft spot in me talking about your grandparents.

Thanks for the comments

Helen, I really like Smithville Lake out of all the lakes in the KC area. It's just so far from me I don't get up there that often. My second choice is Blue Springs Lake. I love fishing off the docks there. No only is the fishing good there is always a great case of regulars there to entertain and keep you company. As for James A. Reed, that's my spot I take my kid's and nephews. Going out to Honker pond I'm always confident that they will catch something.

Well it's that time of the year once again. It's time to go fishing. Even though we didn't have a bad winter I have been in the house way two long and it's time to get to the lake. My rods and reels  are lined up, my lures are all in order and my bucket is ready to be filled.