Rathbun 4/30

[prchjerker]

Two words sums it up Rainy and windy.Fought rain all day yesterday and SE switching to SW winds 20 gusting higher at times.Still we were determined to fish most of the day, spent from 7:30 to 11:30 fishing brush with limited results.Fished a couple docks in the mairna and did better.Finally pulled off around 2:00.The water temps have drop about 5 degrees and we had a raising barometer, so needless to say it wasn't a gang buster day, but it beat sitting at home wishing we were fishing,good news is we finally got some good rain and the lake should start to come up, next two weeks should be awesome if we can get some sun and warmer weather now.

[Crappie Kid]

Prchjerker,

How is the size of the fish at Rathbun this year? Did they get enough rain over in the Rathbun area to hopefully raise the Lake some? The Rathbun page still had the lake level listed at 901.75. Was thinking about heading that direction this weekend?

Crappie Kid

[prchjerker]

Earlier the fish were nice.With the weather this weekend and the dropping temps, the bigger fish shut down.They had some good rain on the lake, but Chariton got over an inch and a half.Itll take several days before the lake starts to raise.
Weve got a full moon on the 13th, should be good by then. Im not going back down till the 14th and Ill be there most of the following week.Have the Crappie Masters tourn on Sat the 20th.

[skunked_again]

Hello - new to the site. Myself and 3 friends will be at Rathbun from the 18th - 21st and we will be staying at Bridgeview. I have a couple of questions. Are there any good spots at that end of the lake? And is it possible to leave a boat in the water by that campsite without it being messed with? It's nice when you don't have to pull the boat out everyday for the night. Thanks.

[prchjerker]

Hey skunked
If youre staying at the Corps campground at Bridgeview, you could leave your baot in the water.They dont have any docks, youd have to beach it.I personally wouldnt, its aweful open and unprotected up at that end of the lake.There is some really good fishing at that end, actually theres good fishing all over Rathbun.Wish I could be alittle more specific, but Ill be fishing the Crappie Masters tournament there that weekend.
Agood friend of mine is sytaying at Bridgeview that week, Im staying at my in-laws in Moravia, but will probably stay out at the lake with him a night or two.Good luck.

[skunked_again]

thanks prchjerker. i can lock down my compartments and stow electronics and can even quickly detach my trolling motor. my big concern is my prop or heck, even the whole outboard (it's only a 75) and if i need to mess with that, i might as well pull the boat out. good luck in the tournament and we'll try to stay out of the way. and look for a silver explorer with Illinois plates with "FELT" on it when you are at the campground. we'll keep a "cold one" for ya.

[mantooth]

if you go straight across the lake to the south from bridgeview, there is a creek channel that snakes along the shore. we drift that about 5-7' deep and have alway picked crappie up also the rocks on both sides of the bridge are good. a buddy of mine caught a 16" and then a 15" back to back of the rocks. GOOD LUCK

also I would pull your boat out its very shallow there and if the lake is down it even worse

[skunked_again]

thanks for sharing mantooth. now i'm salivating. i'll be sure to mark that on the map. this will be our first trip to rathbun so i'm not sure what to expect. our plan is to start out with artificial and switch to minnows if we have to.

if you are "seconding" the motion to pull the boat out, that's good enough for me. thanks again.

[mantooth]

you will end up in crappie cove before the weekends out its on the north side of the lake about half way to honey creek (drift that too, same way) you will see a lot of boats in crappie cove, dont let that worry you get in there and fish.

[prchjerker]

Skunked,
What I meant about unprotected is that area is open water and a strong wind or storm could get ugly if you left your boat in.Theres a ramp a minute from the campground as well as a bait shop across the highway.They cook a great breakfast there as well.
As far as depths go, with the full moon next weekend, Ill almost bet that the fishi will be on the banks.With the water being low as it is look for any kind of wood.
One other note since youve never been to the lake.With the low water(it is coming up a little finally) make sure you swing the points alittle wide.Especially around the South fork flats.Its a point east of where South Fork river meets the main lake.Its super shallow several hundred yards out into the lake.It is buoyed, but its a large area and sometimes hard to see the buoys.Good luck, and if you see a Grey F150 with a big black Lund on in the campground give me a holler.(Im sure Ill be parched )