Bennett Spring, Laclede County, MO, March 30th, 2009: Trout are looking good this year!

This was my first trip to Bennett Spring in 2009....weather was really, really windy. Temperature was pleasant, so I was really looking forward to getting my chest waders on and getting on some fish. My favorite part of Bennett is Zone 2 (artificial and fly). I did not hit all of the normal holes, but fished just above the middle bridge (I believe it is called Whistle Bridge). Started off with my go-to, Little Cleo Spoon, Gold/Red. Took awhile to get on some fish, but started to have some success. First fish I caught was probably around 17"-18" or so. Had a real healthy, well established kipe- bet it becomes a lunker someday!

Walked over to the bridge and had a conversation with one of the people fishing in the tail water section. He had a spinning rod w/ 6# test and was catching Goggle Eye Bass on night crawlers rigged on a drift rig- thought that was cool. That part of the bridge is artificial and natural bait only. I was kind of curious how they would get the fish up to the bridge (I use 2" test or lighter if I can get away with it). Mystery answered: They have nets with long handles (look to be home maid- I do not think you can buy them that way).

Got to the other side of the bridge and switch up to a dark Panther Martin inline spinner, with an ultralight rod. Caught a few snags and then BOOM! This good sized rainbow jumped on it- right before I was ready to bring it in....gave me the same sensation as catching a fish on a topwater! I got him in and realized someone else had caught him earlier and lost him- that is what the red jig is. I bet he pounded on the jig like he hit my Panther Martin. He is now a happy fish- not only did I release him without the Panther, I also went ahead and removed the red jig as well.

The action shot video is that of a nice one I caught on the other side on the way back. Fished about 2 1/2 hours, caught close to 10 fish, all released.

This is going to be a great year!

Fish ON!

MLT

Busch Wildlife CA, St. Charles County, MO, Lake 28, March 29th, 2009: Powerbait Paste worked well for Rainbows

Very interesting start to the day....we had about 3" of snow on the ground, and by the time I got out to Busch Wildlife CA, almost all of it was melted. Got my hip waders on and proceeded to walk around the lake. Fished next to a Canada Goose nest...female let me past, but once the male flew in, it became an issue...secret is not to show fear- or they will attack. Instead they just hissed at me and I walked past. Caught the largemouth Bass on a Little Cleo Silver/Blue spoon real close to shore. Got to the corner of the levy- backside of the lake, and bottom fished with a small treble and white/red/blue Powerbait paste. Took back home (2) decent Rainbow Trout and missed on a couple of more. Got real windy towards the end.

Fish ON!

MLT

Busch Wildlife CA, St. Charles County, MO, Lake 28, February 28th, 2009- Still a lot of trout in lakes

Got out to Lake 28 around 1:30 p.m. and fished until about 5:00. There are still a lot of trout in this lake. In November, December and sometime January they stock this lake and it is catch and release only...seem to recall they stock them with a couple of thousand or so.
Got my hip waders on and walked around towards the back of the lake (forest side, not Highway D side). Used a Silver/Blue Little Cleo spoon due to the overcast skies, but had little luck, so I hiked towards the parking lot and changed the spoon up to a Little Cleo Gold/Red spoon (my "go-to" spoon). Got in the water a little and caught a nice one fairly deep.
Man it started to get cold out...the guides were freezing and water was freezing on the line (this can be a challenge w/ 2# test). The real reason I stopped after a couple of hours was that my feet were absolutly freezing. The air temp was colder than the water temp, so when I got out of the water, it really started to get cold... note to self: make sure to put on (2) pairs of wool socks, not just one!

Fish ON!

MLT

Roubideaux Creek, Pulaski County, MO. January 15th, 2009- Great Day, not much fish

Parked, got on my hip waders, and hiked for about a mile from the parking lot near the spring to under the bridge. Not many fish in sight (saw one deep by the spring)....Day was real warm, so I wanted to take advantage of it on the way back from Springfield.....thought the photos turned out nice!

Fish ON!

MLT

Busch Wildlife CA, St. Charles County, January 3, 2009: One Rainbow, One Brownie, and One Bass

Saturday, January 3rd, 2008: How is that for a title? Sounds like a George Thorogood Song, does it not? Weather was very warm (55 degrees or more) and most of the ice has melted from the lakes. Quite a large crowd at all of the lakes (typical for a warm Saturday). I just got a brand new pair of hip waders. I thought this would be a good day to break them in.

Went to Lake 22 first and proceeded to walk the entire lake. Lots and lots of people fishing w/ bait, so I went with my typical pattern, spoons and metal. Lake conditions are very high and murky to almost muddy (Lake 22 leaned towards the latter). Walked around the entire lake. Did not see anyone get on any major fish (one person caught one in the back part of the lake on bait, but that is all I saw). Caught a nice Largemouth Bass on a gold Kastmaster spoon w/ red slash- thought it was weeds until it started to move in the opposite direction. Went to the back corner of the lake where I had limited out last weekend (forgot to post a report on this site) and fished it for about 20 min. w/ no success.

Decided after that to go to the catch and release lake, Lake 28. Towards the back of the lake there was an ice patch (lost a spoon on it, thank you very much!) and started to fish the edge of the ice bank along the jetty. Caught a nice brownie! (see the photos and video below). It is amazing how bigger their teeth are than the Rainbows (thought I was thumbing a Walleye at first!) Fought hard and was a real joy to catch. Caught him using this seasons old reliable, Gold Super Duper

Walked around the side of the lake closest to Hwy D and hiked over a water covered jetty (hip waders came in real handy) and caught a nice rainbow on the standard, Gold Little Cleo spoon. He was deep near some structure. Debated getting the fly rod out and throwing jigs, but decided to head back.

Fish ON!

MLT

Busch Wildlife CA, St. Charles County, Lake 22, December 21st, 2008: Trout are in clusters

Here is a good stringer picture from lake 22. This is an interesting lake. It seems like when you fish it, it is all or nothing. Lake 22 is a very easy lake to get skunked or, what I like to say, go "0-fer."

Hit a sweet spot- you could literally see the trout finning on the surface. One of the guys near me was getting strikes on his small bobber. Tore them up on gold Super Dupers....lost just as many. Super Dupers are great, but 9 times out of ten you hook them right on the kipe, which means you really need to be skilled in landing them or you end up losing them.

Cleaned them up at my parents house and "gave the gift of trout" this year. They said they cooked up real nice and were quite tasty...fresh, almost like a shore lunch up north.

Fish ON!

MLT

Busch Wildlife CA, St. Charles County, Lake 24, December 20, 2008:

As you can see, pretty nice crowd on this day....wind was really bad at times, made it feel colder than it needed to be. Circled the lake with the traditional items....started using power bait paste with no avail. After about an hour switched over to a silver Super Duper spoon....limited out within an hour. They were a challenging bite, but we were able to figure them out.

Many of the bait fishermen had fish, but not as many, and the action was not as fast.

Fish ON!

MLT