April 27, 2024
First visit of the year to this spot. Its a not insignificant drive, but very doable for a day trip. I didn't catch big numbers of fish, but managed 10 species, and some nice individuals.I caught Largemouth Bass, Green Sunfish, Walleye, Longnose Gar, White Crappie, Black Crappie, Hybrid Striped Bass, White Bass, Bighead Carp, and Gizzard Shad. The Bighead Carp... well the indicator went down, so I set the hook. The fish ended up being hooked in the eye socket (eyeball was not damaged). The Gizzard Shad measured 15" (BIG!) and ATE a fairly large fly! The biggest White Bass was a male, and measured 16". The Longnose Gar was not a large individual, and was missing the tip of his upper jaw. May have been born that way....or certainly it was well healed-over if it was from trauma.
\I did not catch the fish below on my fly rod.... they were beached on shore, but still alive, so I rescued about a half dozen of them back to the water. They are Slenderhead Darters.
David Merical
St. Louis, MO
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Originally Posted by BadBug
