Smithville 7-23-09

[LeeinMo]

We fished up north in the evening. Jigs color did not matter. Even went back and tried to fish the dbl rigs since everyone seems to think that is what works at Smithville?

Did catch a few doubles, had more on but lost hem at the surface. Released all fish did not feel like cleaning them last night.

I do have a question for Mofishmanager........ What is up with the shad this year? I don't mean little bitty 2-3" normal shad. I mean 10-12" shad that are turning the water black with them.

Ain't no way anything but large predator fish can eat these things. Where did they all come from and when will they be gone ???? LOL

This year I have also noticed that the hydrilla & grass is not around. Is that because the lake stayed higher than normal in the spring?

Lee

[MOfishmgr]

The bigger shad are from last year's spawn. Looks like we had a good one which explains why the crappie are growing so well. Bass and catfish are the only thing large enough to eat shad afte the first year. That's a big challenge for us. Shad drive the system in alrge lake but they grow so fast crappie can only eat them for a few months. The good news is that this year's shad spawn looks strong too. I am seeing lots of 1" shad so crappie growth should be goood again this year.

The vegtation is slow to come on due to high water. We have been planting native plants for 10 years in the lake to make sure we have something there to take the milfoil's place should we lose it again. We are seeing some good results there and hope we will have enough seed stock to make that happen.

[cook]

not muskie or walleye?

[got crappie]

hey Jake if you put wipers in Smithville would they take to much food away from the crappie. Thanks Dave

[TnRidge]

I might be moving to the Smithville area soon from Tn. Is the crappie fishing good on the lake ?

[got crappie]

ITs been pretty good this year give me shout when you get up here. Dave

[TnRidge]

I'll let you guys know if I end up moving . I might need a guide .

[LeeinMo]

Jake, from the amount of small Shad that are out there now then. This Fall & next year will be outstanding.

Yeah what about some wipers to get them thinned out?

[MOfishmgr]

I would love the oppportunity to catch hybrid striped bass, notice I didn't use the Kansas vernacular of "wiper"-I always hated that name. I actually prefer Florida's name for them - "Sunshine bass". Any way with the number of predators we have in the lake I am reluctant to stock more. Walleye, bass, white bass, crappie, all the catfish make up plenty of mouths to feed. We've been fortunate the last 5 to 10 years that shad production has been good, but that hasn't always been the case. Smithville historically hasn't been the shad factory Truman has. We biologists are a conservative bunch, so I'll need to see a few more years of good shad production to be tempted to stock hybrids. It's also tough to get hybrids. They are a pretty hatchery intensive fish to raise and rarely do we meet current needs. Unlike catfish and walleye I never see a request out of our hatcheries for a place to stock surplus hybrids.

As far as crappie outlook for the fall and next spring, it looks good. Growth should be good to excellent and we had a good hatch last year. I don't know if next year will be as good as this year, but the year after should be another good year if shad production stays high. That's the great thing about crappie, they are short-lived and the popualtion can change quickly. So bad years can be replaced by good years very quickly.

[TnRidge]

Speaking of hybrid bass , some guys call them Cherokee bass in Tn.
Here is a 28" Hybrid bass I caught last winter on a jigging spoon . They are a blast to catch , especially on topwater in the warmer months.