Fishing in the Ozarks (MO/AR/OK/IL/KS) all 12 months! even winter! what is working, what is not working, new ideas and photo's of great fishing experiences. Kayak Angling is spoken here with a heavy emphasis on Kayak Fishing and paddling!
Greers Ferry Lake is a lake in Arkansas that has some amazing views! I put in at the corps run Choctaw Access point right off Hwy 65 on the west side of the lake. It was a warm day with some chance of thunderstorms, with a bit of wind.
I first fished some reed/brush areas with some drop offs using spinners, wiggle warts ,and senko worms. I then started to work my way around the rock bluff narrows, right before you start to face the boat docks on the other side. The fishing was slow, but got a nice hit on a watermelon Zoom trick worm , texas rigged. I was not able to land it, but it jumped about 3' out of the water, which made the connection all the worth it.
What was really spectacular was witnessing a whole school of white bass going gonzo on a shad ball close to shore. I paddled over and started throwing a minnow topwater plug, but got there just a few seconds too late.
Incredible sunset on Greers Ferry Lake, AR
This is an outstanding lake worth a trip to. It is beautiful like Table Rock, but has some cool "mountain islands" which are unlike anything I have seen in Missouri.
Had an incredible opportunity to hit my favorite lake, Table Rock Lake in Southern Missouri. I would consider this lake my home water. We keep our camper popped up during the season, so it is water that is easy access for myself.
The water has been up (I was hitting it last year during all the rain) so the water is still a tad murky, especially up in the arms. The two trips I took out were not very productive in regards to catching fish, but the third and final one was. I finally figured out that to get up on fish, I needed to get out before the sun rose (this was based on the feedback I got from a couple of other anglers I spoke with in the campground)
On the last trip, I got out early, and went to the cove across the lake from the access point. I was throwing a minnow popper. Caught a nice smallmouth right off the git go! The shad balls were pretty incredible as well, and I had several hits on the top water throwing right on top of the shad balls.
True to the coaching I received, as soon as the sun got up over the tree line, the fish cut off. We shall be back!
The weather the last couple of weeks has been a bit challenging (at least speaking for me coming from a kayak). I had an opportunity to hit the McCubbins Point area (just south of Lake of the Ozarks SP). I like this area due to the fact that there are not as many pleasure boaters on the water. If you go back in further, there are some nice gravel access points that are perfect for someone with a canoe or kayak.
I used the boat ramp and headed out for a few hours of fishing. It started off cool, windy and grey, and then the clouds moved out and we experienced sunny skies. The only challenge was that the wind really started to kick in. I fished the first cove (to get out of the wind), but realized the the fish were probably up on the rocks in the whitecaps. Great for fishing ...challenging for kayaking. I went around the point (you can see it in the photo, towards port side). I took the kayak through the white caps into the next cove and fished the other side- same story-not a taker. So I headed back and drift kayaked back up on the point. The lesson learned in this trip was a quick fact that I got lazy and forgot. ALWAYS RE-TIE YOUR CRANKBAITS AFTER A SNAG UP! I was fishing a crank bait (Wiggle Wart- my go to!) and got snagged real bad in the second cove. I thought I might lose the lure, but managed to get it out. If I would have felt the line, I would have realized it was time to re-tie the lure.
Going back to the "one that got away" story- As I was drift fishing with the wind to my back, and got up on a very nice Largemouth in the rocks. Got him almost to the boat, and then "snap" I watched him take off with my Wiggle Wart in his mouth....wow! Lesson learned....
Had a chance to hit Table Rock Lake at the Aunts Creek Access point (just north of Kimberling City, MO) on May 15th & 16th. We have been receiving a lot of rain and storms, so the lake is not necessarily high, but is more murky than I am used to (at least at this section of the lake). The first day got a chance to only fish for about an hour or so. Got back to shore just in time (heavy thunderstorm). Would have really thought the fishing would have been better with the impending
storm coming in. Was throwing Senkos, Wiggle Warts, spinners, and kitchen sink LOL.
Day 2 I had a little more time, so I got down to the ramp around 2:00 p.m.....then I waited for the rain to stop....and waited....and waited. Finally I went back to the camper and took a nap, and then came back out around 5:00 or so. I call the fish in the photo "the fish of a thousand casts" (I know that moniker belongs to muskies)
I did a TON of casting and throwing things out to try and figure what they were getting up on. Once again, the Wiggle Wart came through for us! I am really starting to enjoy fishing crank baits, especially on Table Rock. Made a short video for you viewing pleasure...enjoy!
I had an awesome time kayak fishing Pyramid SP in Southern Illinois on May 12th. This area is an old strip mine that was converted in the early 60's for recreational use. There is an older section and a newer section. I went ahead and fished the newer section, choosing the larger Boulder Lake as the place I would fish for the day.
The water is gin clear and varies in depth within a matter of feet. Like its name would imply, there are quite a few boulders and rock piles, which is AWESOME!
It took me a few hours to figure out what they were biting on. I eventually caught a huge bass on a texas rigged Senko worm, but lost it about 5' from the yak. I started to throw what has become my "go to", the Wiggle Wart (never thought a crank bait would be my go to LOL). SMACK! thought it was a bass a first, but ended up being a nice sized channel catfish. Took me about 1/2 hour to the get the lure untangled from the net! After that caught several smaller bass and bluegill on the Wiggle Wart.
Looking forward to coming back to this place soon!
Palarm Creek close to the Arkansas River near Little Rock
Here are the first (2) kayak fishing trips of the year. Did not have a lot of success, the kayaking was excellent. Was using the Feelfree 14' Atlantis sea kayak (yes, you can fish off it!) First stop of Palarm Creek/Arkansas river. This is the water that comes from Lake Conway and drains in to the Arkansas. The current is fairly swift with a lot of "shubbery" in the water. Bummer thing happened on this trip- my rudder snapped in two! Ended up cutting it of, stowing it away, and kayaking the rest of the trip. Have to debate if the get a new kit to install or not. Fishing was not good, but the weather (85 degrees) was way better than STL (43 degrees)
Second trip was the Maumelle River at the confluence of the Arkansas River. I did manage to catch a small bass on a small spinner outfit. Slow fishing, but we had just had a cold front move through, and it still had a ton of wind behind it
What an incredible year 2012 was! We suffered a drought across the Ozarks, but the fishing was outstanding! I fell a little short on the smallmouth fishing and trout fishing this year, however, I think we will be able to make up for that in 2013.
Here is to an incredible 2013 in angling and kayaking to you and your family! Enjoy the video :)
