Toronto 5/26/09 mucho slow day.

[LBM]

It was a good day with friends on the water and the weather was great. Thanks to Crappieslayer and KCBaller's reports which I have always enjoyed reading and relating to a good redneck friend from that area about how the Missouri fellows are going down there and having such a good time with those Toronto crappie. My delight at tweaking my friend about your fishing exploits at Toronto tends to counter my envy when reading your reports so keep them coming since I do enjoy tweaking fodder. :D Twice now you guys have been down there fishing Toronto with high water with good results when the locals down there are staying off the water. WTG

Doug and I in my boat and my friend in his boat fished Toronto with all three of us catching at most a total of 28 fish keeping 24. The board is 11.5 inches wide.



My photography skills just don't do justice to those fish. I've never weighed a crappie before. In the past I've just checked the length. Here is a 15 incher from yesterday.



It took us sometime to get the first fish caught trying to use Slayer and KCBaller's pattern on the standing timber. For me it was very much like one I used successfully on Hillsdale one year post spawn and haven't really ever duplicated it again. I just refer to it as flipping the standing timber using 11 ft B&M pole where I just flip the bait out and watch the line as the bait descends through the water and watch for the line tick or if the bait doesn't descend as it normally would without a bite. I'm just swimming the bait in and around the timber going for the active fish. Sometimes its a line tick or it stops falling or moves sideways. That was the pattern catching fish 4 to 6 feet deep around the timber. It was so slow that one was almost tempted to change and do something else and then bam you would finally catch one and continue.

Around 11 am we left the cove trying some up around Toronto point with nothing and came back into Manns Cove. Around 2:30 pm I finally picked one up by dropping the bait ten ft down and just holding it there with no action just letting them see and study the bait and finally one thumped the bait and I pulled a nice crappie out. I done that two more times in the very same spot and we are getting fired up thinking we've found it. I hooked two more like that on other structure and lost one trying to lift it out thinking it had a good roof of the mouth hook but it didn't. :o I'm sure you all have noticed that when ever that happens the crappie always looks like a 18 incher.

The 10 ft depth pattern expired with out ever really getting started and then later in the day it seemed like the flipping for the shallower active produced a few more.

This was my bait for the day using one of the larger and switching to the smaller after the larger bait was ripped. I only have a few of the larger baits left and won't be able to purchase any of either since the fellow that made them I now think has expired. I think he was the fellow that made the molds for them that are used to make the Swimtale lures sold by Zinners in Wichita. The Swimtale lures aren't molded with the red eye like these are.



I have never fished Mann's cove before and here is my good friend that fished with us.



As a closing note here is a picture of the road we launched from and just notice on the road the lines across the road just how high the lake has been recently. The lake gods are eagerly awaiting the scheduling of a summer crappie camp at Toronto so it can swell enough to handle the participants and put the lake level up to those lines across the road. :D



Good luck to those going there this weekend and again thanks to Slayer and KCBaller for your posts.

[Big Nate]

Come on weekend..... I will be there on Saturday and Sunday. I went to Bass Pro last night, and i'm stocked up on Beaver Tails and put new line on the rods.

[AntiochBA]

Come on weekend..... I will be there on Saturday and Sunday. I went to Bass Pro last night, and i'm stocked up on Beaver Tails and put new line on the rods.

You better sacrifice a virgin to the fishing gods that you have no boat/trailer issues....Is Chatt gonna be in the area?

Lee>WTG!

[Crappie Chatt]

BA, BN will BOK. I won't be there till the 30th. Breakfast at Tip Top 7am. Will have my Car Quest battery sponser with me. Just hafta top my trip with him at Banner pullin cranks last summer. Any body in the market for some year old batteries?? I will have 2 deepcycles & 1 starting battery. $20 each. OBO <*)}}}><

[KCBALLER]

Lbm, Thanks For The Kind Words, Slayer And I Will Be There Again Sat, So Look The Hell Out !!! Its On Baby !!! Stop And Say Hi Big Nate U Know Where To Find Us , Lol

[Kansasoutdoorsman]

Chatt, I will take one of the deep cycle... get that from you next Wednesday.

[bc1448]

Those are some real nice slabs ya got there. Congrats on the catch!
Blake

[HairyVetch]

We are headed there in the morning. I hope we leave you weekenders a few :D

[Crappie Chatt]

Batteries are gone. Springhill Duckman, 1 deep cycle. The others are going to hair jig. Thanks guys!!! <*)}}}><

[KCMO CRAPPIESLAYER]

well thank's so much LBM for the kind word's. we try to share info and give the exact pattern's to how we have caught them. those fish are gonna die of old age. and you are truly right the camera does not at all justify the size of those crappie. what an awesome feeling it is to feel that tug and have a 2 plus pound crappie pulling on that long rod...hey i meant that fishing related gent's:D that lake is just as finicky as crappie as i have spent day's upon day's with zero bite's trying everything and anything. but that's fishing. just to know there are hawg's in there and LOT'S of them keep's us going back. i would of been there all week prolly if it was'nt for my treatment's this week, but i'm done tomorrow so next week and a half you know were you can find me. thanx again for the kind word's LBM, our pleasure sharing what we can do to help put a fellow crappiefishermen on some hawg's. what stink's is when you go there for an entire weekend and don't get a bite. it's a good reality check tho