diodeman
11-27-2005, 12:43 PM
Truman Lake in Benton, County Missouri is currently below normal levels but is very productive at this time and may remain so through December.
Last night air temps. were warm, winds fairly calm and despite the dropping barometer the baitfish were prolific in crappie beds, brush piles and heavy structure. The bluegills, shads and crappies were being attacked by ALL species of predators due to the concentration of bait fish in or near structure. One 18lb. flathhead I caught last night had swallowed a crappie I had just caught on a jig connected to 10lb. test "Power-Pro" line on my 10 foot crappie pole! I felt the crappie lightly hit and then the flathead decided to try to take the crappie and my light weight "Ugly-Stick" away from me.
We caught blues and flats at the outside perimeter of, and below the crappie beds and crappie & hybrids inside the upper middle of the beds. Flatheads were roaming but only to find structure where the baitfish were.
Do not give up on catfishing in this geograpical area yet! The cats were hitting evey type of lure or bait we put out last night. We limited on catfish- blues & flats, crappies and hybrid bass. This morning we went back out and caught stripers near the same structure areas one hour before dawn, biggest striper was 23lbs 2oz. We fished fall pattern structures on both the Osage and Grand rivers in Truman Lake.
Catfish are concentrating their feeding habits on wherever the bait is. Plankton is still abundant in warmer waters and thats where the baitfish are, followed by the flatheads which are VERY aggresive right now. All species of catfish are storing up winter fat and that is evident when they are cleaned and processed. Several of our flats topped the 40lb. mark, two of the blues were much heavier. We released numerous catfish under 15lbs. We fished from dark till three am, took the fish home and put them in our holding tanks, then went back out and used artificials tipped with small shad to catch stripers near dawn.
We are expecting heavy rains on Sunday night, through Monday and with temps remaining cool with the wind switching to the North. That may drive the baifish into deeper water but the heavy flowing streams bring out the catfish in heavy numbers due to all the worms, bugs, etc that are washed into the lake. You will find the cats in the area where the muddy water settles and mixes with clear water.
Last night we witnessed channel-cats cleaning off the inside of a deer carcass that had been thrown in the lake near the shore. The shorter daylight periods are triggering the cats to feed heavy.
Go get-em guys while you still can, they are in the fall patterns, they are hungry and aggresive.
Last night air temps. were warm, winds fairly calm and despite the dropping barometer the baitfish were prolific in crappie beds, brush piles and heavy structure. The bluegills, shads and crappies were being attacked by ALL species of predators due to the concentration of bait fish in or near structure. One 18lb. flathhead I caught last night had swallowed a crappie I had just caught on a jig connected to 10lb. test "Power-Pro" line on my 10 foot crappie pole! I felt the crappie lightly hit and then the flathead decided to try to take the crappie and my light weight "Ugly-Stick" away from me.
We caught blues and flats at the outside perimeter of, and below the crappie beds and crappie & hybrids inside the upper middle of the beds. Flatheads were roaming but only to find structure where the baitfish were.
Do not give up on catfishing in this geograpical area yet! The cats were hitting evey type of lure or bait we put out last night. We limited on catfish- blues & flats, crappies and hybrid bass. This morning we went back out and caught stripers near the same structure areas one hour before dawn, biggest striper was 23lbs 2oz. We fished fall pattern structures on both the Osage and Grand rivers in Truman Lake.
Catfish are concentrating their feeding habits on wherever the bait is. Plankton is still abundant in warmer waters and thats where the baitfish are, followed by the flatheads which are VERY aggresive right now. All species of catfish are storing up winter fat and that is evident when they are cleaned and processed. Several of our flats topped the 40lb. mark, two of the blues were much heavier. We released numerous catfish under 15lbs. We fished from dark till three am, took the fish home and put them in our holding tanks, then went back out and used artificials tipped with small shad to catch stripers near dawn.
We are expecting heavy rains on Sunday night, through Monday and with temps remaining cool with the wind switching to the North. That may drive the baifish into deeper water but the heavy flowing streams bring out the catfish in heavy numbers due to all the worms, bugs, etc that are washed into the lake. You will find the cats in the area where the muddy water settles and mixes with clear water.
Last night we witnessed channel-cats cleaning off the inside of a deer carcass that had been thrown in the lake near the shore. The shorter daylight periods are triggering the cats to feed heavy.
Go get-em guys while you still can, they are in the fall patterns, they are hungry and aggresive.