Milford Lake

[Catfish Fever]

Went out today, DEEP, only caught six, 2 Blues and 4 Channels, biggest was only 5.5lbs, the Channel. Caught my first one in 64feet and the last in 57feet. I was hoping for some bigger Blues, the marks were there, they just weren't hungry I reckon. Smallest was a 2.1lb Bluecat, in 60 foot of water, don't know what that little guy was doing down there.

[loop]

Jim at least your still catching some unlike most of us.
Loop

[Catfish Fever]

Loop: Darrel, yeah, it's better than nothing, but nothing like it should be by this time of the year. I've only caught one 20lb + so far this year, by now, I should have at least a dozen! Sounds like the River Rats are doing pretty good!

[loop]

Jim as much as you go out the odds are in your favor just keep it up you will find more.
Loop

[Catfish Fever]

FINALLY found some Cats last night. The one in the pic is one my fishing partner caught, first of the night, it's a 21.8lb Bluecat, 36.5X19.5. We had another right up by the Toon in the spotlight, looked MUCH bigger than this one, just as it was about to be netted, it rolled and and got loose. We also caught 5, 5+lb Blues and Channels and a few smaller ones in the 2+ to 3+ lb range. This was the best trip all year. We went out at 7:30 and fished till 3 AM, when they finally quit biting, we plan on doing it again Friday evening. After we measured and weighed her, I tagged and released her. Hopefully I'll meet up with her again when she's over 30!

[kcgeoff]

Jim,
Thats good to hear that your getting into the cats now! Congrats! I hope you catch a biggun.

[Catfish Fever]

Geoff,
Thanks, I'm sure hoping so. I might've caught this one if I didn't take my friend with me, LOL! I'm glad I took him though, he said this is the biggest fish he's ever caught. He used to go whitebass fishing all the time, finally got him to go Catfishing, he's been going with me ever since. Kinda good for me too, the Frau doesn't care much for me going out alone at night, lol.

[kcgeoff]

Jim,
Have you been catching anymore cats? I'd imagine with the cooler temps the blues outta really be turning on soon. I'm hopefully to get into some blues on the Missouri soon.

[Catfish Fever]

Geoff, OH YEAH, since the lake cooled, it's down to 75 during the day now, my fishing pard and me have been doing great. We hooked two more good sized Blues at least 15 or better based on spotlight vision. Both spun off on top, but we did get a good look at them. Also quite a few 5 to 9 lb Blues and Channels are making INTO the Toon. We've been going out just before dark and drifting from the dam into the lake, we start in about 40ft and go to 62ft or so, catching fish at all depths. He can't go with me till 5:30 PM, he's trapped babysitting his two grandkids all week. So I'll go myself during the day and have been doing just as good. Bait's mainly been Goldeye, live shad and Shrimp. I'm starting to believe in Calvins theory about the moon. We were doing real good at night till about 4 days ago when the moon started filling out. The fuller it got, the less fish we caught, when we fished the dark of the moon we caught fish till we left.
How you been doing on the river? Still getting those bigguns? Good luck.

[Catfish Fever]

Well, went out today again, actually late this afternoon. Caught another nice Bluecat, 21.3lbs, plus 5 Blues and Channels 4 to 6 lbs :thumbsup:. I'm just hoping they're starting to start a trend. Lately, the fish we've been catching have been getting bigger. This one was tagged and released. We also had some entertainment, couple of windsurfers showing their stuff in front of us, we were the only audience on the lake :rolleyes: They were really good though, waves were pretty steep, wind was gusting to 30mph. Prefer these guys to PIC's (Personal Idiot Craft) anyday. Only seen two other boats on the lake, so it was a perfect day.

[catfishcentral]

That's a nice looking blue there Jim. Congrats on a great catch! Looks like the fall bite starting to pick up.

[Calvin]

Great looking blue Jim. Congratulations. I'm looking forward to getting up to Milford in a few days. I hope the weather will start cooling off a little.

[Catfish Fever]

Chris, Thanks, yep, we're starting to catch a lot more fish. We caught 4 over 20 in a two week period. Two confirmed (boated) two that we got up to the boat that got loose, but sure looked as big as the two that got away. Everythings been deep, 50' or deeper. How's your fishing going, good to I hope.

[Catfish Fever]

Calvin, thanks. How'd you do on your hunting trip? The fishing sure has picked up in the last couple of weeks. This coming week, I won't be available to much, I have to take Lydia to Topeka Monday, and I'll be getting a couple of teeth yanked Wednesday. I'll be ready to go the rest of the week though. Are you planning on camping for a couple of days or just coming for the day? If you're planning on just for the day, why don't you think about Thursday or Friday? Let me know your plans.

[catfishcentral]

Jim, The fishing has been OK but nothing very big lately. I had a terrible accident on Thurday. I came home from being out of town for a couple of days and notice my deep freeze door was left open. :eek: The smell alone from the shad and cut spoonbill was terrible. Then about 20 pounds of catfish fillets all wasted along with other food. I told the wife I'll fish as long as it takes to fill the freezer again. ;)

[GaryF]

Jim, Congrats on the nice blue cat!

[Calvin]

Jim, I'll have to come up on a weekend because I can't get off work during the week. I'll be going back to work tomorrow and will have to check on what's been going on while I've been gone. I am on call for a week but can't remember when it is for sure. I'll drop you a line tomorrow evening. Good luck in Topeka and with yoiur choppers.

[Catfish Fever]

Chris, WOW, sorry to hear about your misfortune. That's really terrible, not so much the bait (ceptin' for the smell) but the eating fish is another story. Well, look on the bright side, the wife will know you're out there fishing as much as possible to keep the family larder stocked :rolleyes:. Hopin' you have some really good catches.

[Catfish Fever]

Gary, thanks. Seems like it's getting better every time we go out. Even though we didn't land them all, that's 5 that were over 20 (3 pretty fair guestimates) in two weeks. Put new hooks on all poles, :) .

[Catfish Fever]

Calvin, yeah, these trips to Topeka are really putting a heavy drain on my time on the lake :rolleyes: , but they're really necessary. After this trip, it may be chopper instead of choppers :crying: . The only good thing is, I don't need teeth to drink beer :D . If you can, let me know a couple of days ahead of time before you plan on coming up, I want to make sure I'll be here. But weekends should pose no problems, as we wouldn't be going anywhere, USUALLY! I'm hoping you're planning on spending the night, you'll be welcome here! Let me know when you're ready.

[Catfish Fever]

Had a fabulous day today. Caught 15 Blues and Channels, all between 3.5 and 5 lbs. Deep water again, 55 to 60+ in front of the dam. Best baits were fresh caught/cut shad(big) and Goldeye. Tried some live shad, 3/4 inchers, had one bite, that was it. Had a real nice breeze for drifting, 8 to 10 mph out of the South, carried me right in front of the dam. Had to go alone, fishng buddy had baby sitting duty today.

[kcgeoff]

Jim,
Thats a nice bluecat. Congrats! Sounds like your really getting into the cats now.

[Catfish Fever]

Geoff, Yep, they're really starting to eat, water discharging from the tube is 74, so I imagine that's what the temp is in the deep water we're fishing in front of the dam. Surface water is down to 71. They sure are getting lively though.

[Calvin]

Glad to hear you're getting into the fish Jim. Its probably going to be at least three weeks before I can get loose to come up and go. I can't make it this weekend and the following week I'm on call all week and can't leave. I think the cooleer it gets the better the fishing is going to be anyway. Keep after them. You are making up for all those times you were skunked earlier.

[Calvin]

Didn't mean to send this twice

[Catfish Fever]

Calvin, looking forward to you coming up, I'm sure the cooler the water, the bigger the fish'll get :rolleyes:

[Catfish Fever]

Went out today, the lake temperature's down to 67, but the fishing is really picking up. Drifting out in the deep water in front of the dam, caught 13, thought I released 3, forgot one, :eek: 9 Blues and 4 Channels, smallest was 3lbs, biggest was 6.5lbs. They all were pretty stuffed with shad, but still ate our cutbait, Goldeye and Carp. Here's a pic.

[Calvin]

Nice mess of fish Jim. Did you catch any of them on Danny King's or have you given up on it?

[Catfish Fever]

Calvin, we tried it again today, I had the blood on, my buddy had the original. We were drifting though, little rough, 18 mph wind. We caught 12 today, 11 Blues and one Channel, all on Goldeye. We're not gonna give up though. Next time we'll try some still fishing out by the dam, when the wind calms down some so we can anchor though. I won't give up until this pints gone anyway :rolleyes: I'm going to keep tic marks on the container, depends on how many marks wether or not I get another batch :D . I'm hoping when you come up this time, we'll do A LOT better than last time.

[roundhill]

jim im from n.c. i will be fishing milford in june king kat tournment will be thear 3days early need some addvice on the lake i drift fish most of the time thank you.

[Catfish Fever]

Ron,
Give me a holler when you get here and I'll be happy to let you know where we've been into the Cats on Milford, you'll definitely want some Goldeye for bait too.

[Calvin]

Jim, in case you are interested, I'm planning on a trip to Keystone the week of November 7th. I'll probably go down on Saturday and come back Wednesday or Thursday, depending upon how many fish I've caught.

[Catfish Fever]

Calvin, thanks for letting me know, BUT, same thing, again, have to go to Topeka with Lydia on the first, just a one day deal, just won't be able to leave her by herself for a couple of days. One of theses days though, I sure do want to get down there and fish with you. I thought I might make the El Dorado deal, but the way she's feeling I think it's better I stick close to home. She said go, but, but I won't unless she does. Like I said, one of these days we'll make it down there.

[Catfish Fever]

Got into some Bluecats today, FINALLY, all eaters, no picture takers though. Had two previous days with nothing. Caught most today on cut carp and a couple on goldeye. Didn't start getting bites until I was 40feet or better. Got real lucky on getting carp for bait. They emptied the stilling basin to check the dam a couple of weeks ago, me and my buddy went down to where they dump all the rough fish the seine out. We got 20 small carp, bout 6 to 8 inches long, perfect bait in my opinion, just cut off a 1/4inch chunk crosswise. We vacuum bagged and froze them. Water currently is running 49 to 51 deg. Didn't even get a bite under 39ft.

[Catfish Fever]

Yaahhhh, finally caught me a Catfish with Danny King(blood) my first after many tries. I'm not trying to be facetious, I'm just happy it finally worked for me, I've got some confidence in it now, here's a pic. We were fishing at Geary State lake.

[Individualist]

Jim,

I think your on to something there with the Danny King bait. OK, give us the details, water depth/clarity, water temp, moon phase, etc...................

[Catfish Fever]

Brian, we were just fishing a state lake from shore. water's about 15 feet or so in this area, pretty muddy as the wind was blowing into us from the South. We fished it the other day on the Catoon and water temp was 47.

[fishinjunky]

i'm from nebraska and was just wondering if milford is iced up at all.

[Catfish Fever]

Zach, I apologize for the delayed reply. Nope, been lucky so far, currently most of the coves are froze in, but there are still two boat ramps open. Water temps been 38deg(surface). Water coming out the tube has been between 39 and 40.

[okiecop]

With you all fishing milford up there it is making me homesick. Keep up the great job. You never know maybe someday this ole' boy will make it back home.

I grew up fishing milford lake and hunting a lot down around broughton and wakefield.

[fishinjunky]

catfish fever, you say most of the coves are froze, do you know whether the school mcreek area is froze? dad and i will be out in about five days. will i have to worry about ice in a boat or will it be melted by then?

[Catfish Fever]

Zach, I have'nt been up by School Creek lately. But judging from the shape of all the other coves around, it's probably froze over back to the boat ramp. The ice is getting soft with this warm weather we've been having and it's supposed to continue for a few more days. Right now the only two open ramps are the one at Dedication Point and Rolling Hills West. I'll take a ride up to School Creek tomorrow and check it out for you though. I'll let you know here tomorrow evening. I'll send my phone numbers in a PM and you can give me a call when you get to town, be nice to meet you and your Dad.

[fishinjunky]

thanks jim alot of ponds up here in nebraska are really starting to melt, even the rivers are almost open. have you guys been catching many or has it been slow? i really could care less i just wanna get out and fish. i'd just hate to be one of those guys that calls it quits after first frost.

[Catfish Fever]

Zach, checked out School Creek today. You shouldn't have any problems, the lake is open clear back to the boat ramp and dock, there is just a little thin ice to the left of the loading dock, it wouldn't interfere with loading though. It'll probably be gone by tomorrow. Posted a pic for you. Don't know if you're familiar with the short cut to the park( the dirt road). If you are, don't take it's pretty muddy, specially for pulling a boat. When I came back out I used the gravel road. It'll be a couple of miles longer, but a lot "cleaner" trip ;) . If the wind blows like they say it is tomorrow, 5 to 10mph, I'll be hauling the Catoon up there. The weather's just been great, supposed to hit the low 60's tomorrow. They are talking about possible rain showers Tues thru Thur, just light though. Slightly cooler too.

[brad kilpatrick]

Hey Jim isn't there a camp ground just to the left. I think thats the camp and ramp I used last summer when I was there

[Catfish Fever]

Brad, yes there is. When you leave the gravel road and head into the park, the first campground is on the right, it's back in a little cove. Then just before you get to the ramps there's another camp area on the left which is rilght on the main lake. You come back in the spring/summer give me a holler when you get here.

[brad kilpatrick]

Thought so. looked so familer. We had a real good Time that weekend!!!

Thanks a lot. I'll drop you a pm when I know the exact dates I'll be at the lake.

[Catfish Fever]

Yep, it's a pretty nice campground, even without hookups. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you.

[fishinjunky]

thanks for the pic jim, plans have changed and it looks like we won't be out until jan 5 that night we'll be out and then we'll fish that whole weekend. i'm pretty bummed about it, i really wanted to go thursday but it ended up dad didn't have as many vacation days left as he thought. i'd come by myself otherwise but i'm only 17 and i legally can't take my boat out until i'm 18 unless kansas has a different law? oh well just another thing to look forward to again. i'll still try to call before i get up their.

thanks, Zach

[Catfish Fever]

Zach, sorry to hear you can't make it, but it might be for the best. We went up to School Creek and put in today, traveled from the SC cove over to Rush Creek(across the lake) then up to Milford (town) on the east side, back down to SC, zig zagging all the way, never marked a single fish :eek: . So we loaded back up and went down to Dedication Point boat ramp and put it, about 10 miles. There were plenty of fish and shad marking, (see pic). We caught 1, 1.5 lb Channelcat. It was beautiful though. 60deg (water is 35), about a 2 mph breeze, sunny. Just a great day on the lake. Oh yeah, we did see a couple of Eagles catch a couple of fish, they did bettern we did :rolleyes: .
When you do come, do you have a camper or what? The reason I'm asking is, you may want to stay down by Dediction Point in the parking lot, THERE JUST AIN'T NO FISH up by School Creek area. Let me know your new plan when you decide.

[fishinjunky]

well it turns dad just doesn't want to head down to milford, "until it gets warmer" i told him sixty in january is considered warm, he just rolled his eyes i'm really bummed, he agreed to let me come down with friends but says i have to leave my boat behind. which i really don't fish without my boat, so i guess i'll see you this spring some time. unless it's to warm :rolleyes:.

thanks, zach

[Catfish Fever]

Zach, sorry to hear you won't be coming, I'd sure like to have met and fished with you and your Dad. The weather has really settled, although the wind kicks up every couple of days. The weatherman makes this coming weekend sound like spring, Sat mid 60's, Sun mid 50's. We're just hoping the wind don't blow to hard. You have'nt been missing much though. The fishing has been great, it's just the catching has been real slow. Usually we'll just get one or two eaters. But being out on the lake is great, we've been fortunate to watch the eagles at the dam catching fish anyway, they seem to be doing better'n we are :know-big:. I'll be looking to hear from you when the weather "warms" then.

[kcgeoff]

Jim,
You done any fishing the last couple days? As warm as it is today I'm planning to head out soon. I'm not expecting to catch anything but just getting out will be nice!! :)

[Catfish Fever]

Geoff, nice to hear from you again. We've been fishing the last couple of days, whenever the wind ain't blowin 30mph. Yesterday was about 5 today 10 to 15. All we caught were a couple of small throw backs, little over a lb. We've been marking some huge fish, they just ain't bitin, to many shad I think. We've been fishing in 60+ ft of water, HUGE schools of shad, I'm sure they're eating the one's dying and floating down. I can't figure what those little rascals are doing that deep with all them bigguns. We'll be giving it a shot tomorrow again. Wish you a lot of "bigguns" this year.

[brad kilpatrick]

Jim can You please PM me your E-mail address again I must have deleated it. I have the dates I'll be at the Milford state Park.

[Catfish Fever]

Brad, sorry for the delay, I'll get a PM off to you tonight.

[Catfish Fever]

Finally had some success for the new year. Caught a few bigger Cats, not much though, they were over 3lbs anyway, only two. We'd drifted every kind of bait we had with us, goldeye, shad, carp, DK with no luck. I remembered I had a slab of beefliver, so I put a piece of it on, caught the first one about 5 minutes later:thumbsup: there was liver on all six poles in a short time. we were drifting across the river channel in 60+ ft of water, wind was 15mph. Before and after the river, very few fish marked, in the river, all kinds of fish. The schools of shad are also ENORMOUS, a lot of them too. We're gonna give it another shot tomorrow if the wind stays down again.

[crazy]

Jim, Do you ever fish shallow water this time of year? I seem to do better fishing the shallow water like say 2-6 feet of water.

[Catfish Fever]

Josh, we've tried that here on Milford, but have never had any luck in the shallows. Like I said in Saturdays post, all the fish and shad are in the deepest water of the lake, mostly in the old river channel. Once we drift past the channel, we hardly even mark a fish. Are you talking river or resevoir/lake?

[crazy]

River/lakes. Maybe it's just me but I seem to find alot of shad in the 10-20 foot range. At least thats where they where on saturday on smithville hanging around bridge pillers. Jim, I guess every lake is different. Just kind of interesting. On lake of the ozark below truman where it's more of a river then a lake. I do really good in the 2 foot of water range come around end of Feb.

[Catfish Fever]

Josh, what kind of water temperature are you fishing in? Here lately it's been running between 36 and 38 deg's. I told my fishing buddy what you do, so next time we go out, we're going to go in shallow, just to see what happens, sure can't hurt to know for sure, thanks.

[mdspoula]

I was told to post to one of the forums by this login message so I figured I would say hi to all the locals. I have been a member since last summer and gone fishing a couple of times with Dafin. I can't wait till the weather heats up and I can hit Milford again. I usually start around March but the way the weathers been I've been thinking about going sooner. Sounds like you guys have had some luck. Later...

[Catfish Fever]

Matt, nice to meet you. Anytime you come to Milford fishing, please give me a call, I'd like to meet and fish with you. PM me and I'll give you my phone number and email address. Blow up the member map and you'll see exactly where I live, it's just outside the Curtis Creek park. It's exactly 10 miles from the blinking redlight at the 77Hwy and 244 intersection. Man, this member map is really great. Thanks Paul.

[Catfish Quiver]

Catfish Fever, when we going fishing again. We wil have to try shallow. (leave your DK at home)

[Catfish Fever]

Jerald, the luck we've been having lately with it, I probably will, although Calvin said it works kind of slow for him too, in the colder water.

[Catfish Fever]

Just wanted to say Jerald, "Catfish Quiver" is someone I recruited to the BOC, so far, the only one I know for sure that joined.

[hawkman]

I can not get the map to work

[Catfish Fever]

Tracey, after you put in all the info per the instructions, close your browser, which it says to do, when you re-open the BOC, your map pin will be there. I did notice though, that the title for going there isn't there this evening?