Smithville 11/22

[APKape]

I finally made some time for the crappies today. Winterizing the house, car, yard work, repairs take too much time and me away from the lake. So, decided to get all the chores done Saturday and hit the lake today. It was a good day, not great, just barley made it to good. The wind was light, and the big ones are starting to bite.

On to the report…

Hit the lake around 9:00am and decided to try the W Bridge first. I hit the first two sets of pillars on the east side of the bridge. The finder was showing schools of fish, but didn’t catch a thing. I had one guy pull up after launching at the W Bridge boat launch. He came, wet his line for about 10 minutes, then took off.

My second spot of the day was the brush pile on the south east cove of the W Bridge. I decided to fish between the piles, thinking the fish were deep. I dropped my jig into the pile and within a couple of turns of my reel I was getting hits. I was catching a fish with each catch and the fish were small (a bit disappointing). My luck changed when I started fishing more shallow. The large fish seemed to be hovering between 3-6’ above the piles. The trick was not to cast the jig, but drop it and reel slow. Picked up some nice 10-11” fish.

My third spot was the cove with standing trees across the lake. This was the spot that had my killer swans at a couple of weeks ago. I fished the mouth of the cove and in the trees. The fish were toward the bottom and they weren’t big. It didn’t take me long to move on.

As I was making my way to my next spot, I noticed some guys hitting the brush pile just south of Area 2. If you look at my map it’s marked by an X. These guys were sitting here for a while. I’ve tried to find this spot with the finder before but I couldn’t seem to find it. Looked like those guys were pulling them in.

The fourth spot was the brush pile next to the golf course. I tried fishing it the same was as my first brush pile. This one too held some nice fish about 3-6’ above the piles.

My last spot of the day was the brush pile at the Little Platte Marina. It held a lot of fish, but they were small. After unhooking about 100 fish (and my thumb was raw), I packed the boat and left for the day.

Tackle used was a new 12’ Uncle Buck rod given to me by Dave (Got Crappie); thanks Dave. The rod sure made a difference on those light bites. Bait used was black/chart, blue/chart, and blue/white jigs. Bite was best on the black/chart.

As I was pulling out of the boat launch I passed a guy packing his boat up with a large crappie sticker on the back of his outboard. Decided to stop and see if he was a CDC member in disguise. After talking with him a bit he wasn’t from CDC, but fished clubs in Kansas and Crappie USA. Moved here from Kansas about a year ago and this was his second season fishing Smithville Lake. His old stomping grounds were Clinton (in Kansas) and Perry Lake. He said he’s been having some trouble fishing Smithville and can’t seem to figure the lake out. I gave him our website, invited him to the Dec 3 get together, and told him to look for the CDC sticker on the lake. For the life of me, I can’t remember his name. I hope he makes it to the Beer and Burger Night. Real nice guy.

Anyway, that’s about it for me tonight. I’ve got the day off tomorrow and I know you guys can guess where I’ll be. If anyone’s been out on the lake, I’d like to hear how you guys are doing. Post a report.

[bwillaub]

Nice report. Stay after em. There are some BIG ones in there.

[Joedog]

Way to figger em out, Alex!

[jackb]

Nice report as always Alex, very thorough. HOWEVER, WHEN are you going to Truman? When you catch fish like Monty, you will look like this and this instead of catching two million shorts at Smithville and looking like this

[APKape]

Nice report as always Alex, very thorough. HOWEVER, WHEN are you going to Truman? When you catch fish like Monty, you will look like this and this instead of catching two million shorts at Smithville and looking like this

Jack, I've got to stay true to my hometown lake. There may be a lot of dinks, but when I land a big one it feels like a whale.

I'll make you a deal. I'll make a trek with you down to Truman on two conditions. First, Monty has to crack a smile in one of the pictures he posts on CDC. The second, I've gotta see you eat a crappie. Only when those two conditions are met will I consider a trip.

On a serious note, I'm going to hit Truman and LOZ next year. I've finally decided to get a truck next year to do some seirous crappie fishing. The old Grand Am won't cut it for the log trips when I go after them slabs.

[TnRidge]

Another good , detailed report . I look forward to meeting you and the CDC guys at the Beer and Burger on the 3rd.
Scott

[jackb]

Jack, I've got to stay true to my hometown lake. There may be a lot of dinks, but when I land a big one it feels like a whale.

I'll make you a deal. I'll make a trek with you down to Truman on two conditions. First, Monty has to crack a smile in one of the pictures he posts on CDC. The second, I've gotta see you eat a crappie. Only when those two conditions are met will I consider a trip.

On a serious note, I'm going to hit Truman and LOZ next year. I've finally decided to get a truck next year to do some seirous crappie fishing. The old Grand Am won't cut it for the log trips when I go after them slabs.

Alex, if you are waiting for Monty to smile and me eat a crappie, keep reading the posts because you will NEVER go to Truman. I do however admire your loyalty to Smithville.

[got crappie]

Nice report. Alex. Dave

[wannagofishin]

Fished the CB docks this afternoon - actually - the rocks. Caught 4 keepers in about an hour - then nothing much. All 4 were between 9 1/2 and 12". Really fighting today, which was fun. Caught all 4 on a roadrunner. Use it because of the wind.

Hey apkape - if you ever need a partner for some fishing out on the lake, let me know, I will avail myself

[dedawg1149]

nice report as always