SuperVehicle001

Conditions: Lots of rain the day before. Rained almost all day. Water: Stained, High Temp: 75-78F (I got it from my new Deeper sonar unit!) Well I know it's not just me having a terrible time at James A. Reed. A friend who fishes tournaments met me out at Bluestem lake. We worked the whole dam. I went with a Texas rigged Christie Creature until I lost it in a brush pile. Then I switched to a swimming Senko on a shank weighted hook. He worked a weightless t-rigged Senko then switched to a chatterbaitt stopping to swap out from black and blue to white and chartreuse. We got a whole lot of nothing and moved onto Lake Nell. Once again we worked the dam. He gave in and used his hated spinning rod to work a ned rig along the dam as I fished some pockets near some trees. We switched banks several times and caught absolutely nothing. I switched to a Carolina rigged Christie Craw and he went with a Texas Rigged Culprit Tomato color worm. He even gave up on bass and tied on a Road Runner inline spinner to catch anything. We both got skunked and he hadn't been skunked in years. For now, Reed is off my list of places to fish. There is no point fishing all those walkable banks if there are no fish that want to bite. Not sure where the MDC gets their info but bass are not "fair" on plastics. Maybe in the fall when the temp cools more and a lot of the other fisherman have switched to hunting there will be less pressure. I might come back to fish lake Plover when they stock Trout in November. I've had my eye on an ultralight rig for trout, crappie and other pan fish. On a side note, I really like the Deeper Pro Plus. I didn't use it much because the spinning combo I bought really isn't heavy enough to cast a 3oz chunk of metal and plastic. What data I did get was really neat. Confirmed what I already knew about those dams. There are deeper channels running close to the spillway and the bank gives way from riprap to silt around 6 feet down. If anything it helps me know what each bottom type feels like through my c-rig. I bought about 100 feet of thin paracord and I just plan on chucking the thing into the water instead of buying a dedicated rod.

I'm looking for an affordable float tube or kayak that can seat a heavy guy like me. I figured fishing from a kayak or float would be a great way to exercise but most the floats and kayaks I've seen max out at 325lbs which is how much I weigh. Also, I drive a Honda Fit so I don't have the ability to tow a kayak trailer. There are strap systems for my car though so I could make that work maybe. Any advice?

I was getting skunked there too before trying James A Reed lol. I was house sitting my parent's place and I was getting up at 5 am every day to hit that small lake before the sun came up. I'd fish until sun-up then I would go back at 8pm. I got a whole lot of nothing. How did you access decent parts of the bank? Not a whole lot of that lake is accessible from shore.

I'll hit Jacomo first then. It is actually a bit closer to me anyway. I live downtown so I'm not super close to any lakes but also not super far away. Plenty are within 45min to an hour which is not bad.

Well, now I'm not so confident in my weekend choice lol. I will still do some fishing there because I'm tired of getting skunked at Reed but all these comments bashing Smithville Lake and the current MDC fishing report are putting a wet blanket on my enthusiasm.

I'm bank bound but I plan to fish every dock, marina, and boat launch I can find.

I did some searching before posting but a lot of the posts regarding Reed are a year or older. Some posts have nice pictures of bass, some say Reed sucks lol. I've read some articles about bank fishing in KC that praise the area. The MDC fishing report says Jackrabbit, Catclaw, Nell and Bluestem have the best bass and are currently "fair". I have no idea what that means. Because fair to me means I'd catch something at least. There is a lot of conflicting info on Reed so I'm hoping to find someone that has been recently to get a better picture of the current conditions.

I've been working the dams on various lakes at James A. Reed. I'm bank bound so accessibility is an issue. I've fished Jackrabbit, Catclaw, Nell, and Bluestem. I've been skunked every time. I've worked up and down all the cover I can see with a weightless Texas rigged Senko. Getting ready to give up on Reed for the time being. I've been looking at any possible bank fishing spots on Lake Jacomo. I've heard it has one of the best populations near KC. Using the satellite view of Google Maps, I've noted the boat ramps, the dam, and what looks like a section of riprap along a large point at the end of Selvy Road. Has anyone else had success on the banks of Jacomo? If so, where and on what lures or rigs?

So instead of constantly searching for what rod goes best with what lures I'm going to try and tap the wisdom of the crowds here. I know there are a lot of different opinions but if I get enough responses I can get a heat map of the most common combinations of rod type (casting or spinning) and strength (heavy, medium heavy etc) and action (medium, fast, etc). I'm mainly trying to weed out combinations that should never be used. If something can kinda sorta work but not the best I'd like to know that too. So here is what I've read so far and kinda the format of responses I'm hoping for. Casting, MH, F Best: T-rigged plastics, Carolina rigged plastics. So-so: Frogging (deep cover) Don't do it: Light finesse worms (won't cast). Large crankbaits (heavy rod and fast action can tear hook out) Casting, M, M Best: Large bill crankbaits So-So: Spinner baits Don't do it: Frogging (heavy cover, not enough spine for hookset in cover)

So I have already tried a c-rig with using my 12lb fluorocarbon as a leader. I use a barrel swivel so it is pretty easy to attach a lead. Should I look into using a fluorocarbon leader for other bait presentations? I have 30lb test PowerPro (green) on my bait caster. My next trip I'm planning on trying out a swimming Senko on a shank weighted swimbait hook. It is tied directly to the 30lb braid. If so how would I use a leader? Should I splice the line? Will fluorocarbon splice to braid? Use snaps or swivels for it? I hear people talk all the time about using leaders but not much talk about how they actually implement a leader.

Hello, all! I'm a 29-year-old guy trying to get back into fishing. From age 10-15 I lived and breathed fishing. My life revolved around fishing magazines and Bill Dance Outdoors. After a small handful of fishing trips throughout my life when my dad and I didn't get skunked, I gave up. I loved spending time with my dad but not catching fish was just too much. We spent our summer days doing other things after that. I live in Kansas City, Missouri. I've had to pretty much rebuild my entire collection of rods, reels, and lures. Anyway, I'm back and trying to dedicate myself to bass instead of hauling around enough kit for every species of fish. I've just accepted getting skunked as a n00b bank bass fisherman. I've fished some small lakes in North West MO owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation but not much luck so far. So then I tried out James A. Reed Wildlife area which is only a half hour from me. I will be returning often until I catch something! All the lakes were so walkable it was the first time I didn't sigh and wish I could have a boat. My favorite lures are topwaters like the jitterbug, hula frog, and Zara Spook. My personal best bass of around 2-3 lbs was on a floating Smithwick Rogue jerkbait. My dad and I hit a lake right before a storm. The wind was blowing shad right into some weeds on a narrow point. It was a cast a lure, catch a fish situation. Probably my best fishing trip ever. Got addicted to topwater. Largest fish I ever caught was a northern pike in a small Nebraska farm pond. I was going for bass with my spook, the pike that was eating the bass fry had other ideas! Recently I've expanded into soft plastics. Never used them growing up but I'm learning how to fish a Texas Rig and also trying out Carolina Rigs to explore water and learn how to discern bottom composition. Almost all my bass fishing google searches ended up here so I decided to stop lurking and sign up.