Weather / lake level
The lake is glass calm this morning after a nasty storm last night dropped hail at Monkey Island, Fairland, Grove and around the lake. The lake is up substantially, with two main gates and some small gates open at the dam. Jeff can see the current coming around the point at Shangri-La and past his dock, carrying trash and debris down the Neosho, Spring and Elk rivers from Missouri and Kansas. That's expected, and a healthy inflow is good for the lake.
Spawn / high water
This is the best thing that could have happened to the Crappie and Bass spawn. Lots of fish on the bank are protected, and the fry will be too. Muddy, high water is tough on anglers, but it pays off for years. When male Crappie stay on the beds raising fry, there are tons of Bluegill and Sunfish waiting to eat them, so the more flooded grass, bushes, trees and leaves, the better young fish survive until they can get off the bank and start eating zooplankton in the main lake.
Crappie
Haydn has had a tough time but is still getting folks limits, running all over the lake chasing a little clear water. Jeff fished with his good friend Mike Murray a couple of times over the weekend at Honey Creek Bridge, Bernice, and assorted points and coves. They caught a lot of nice Crappie and cleaned several spawned-out females that had dropped two-thirds to three-quarters of their eggs. The spawn is definitely going on.
White Bass
Jeff and Mike also caught a ton of Sand Bass on 2½-inch Swimming Minnows with 1/8 oz heads. Jeff threw Thunderstorm and Mike threw Moonshine (chartreuse and white), just casting and reeling. The White Bass absolutely destroyed the Crappie Magic crankbait in white pearl with red eyes: reel it fast and they hammer it on a reaction strike. It caught a few Crappie too. Trollers take note: the Crappie Magic runs about 4 to 6 feet deep.
Below the dam
Fishing in the tailrace below Pensacola Dam is on fire. Weeks of full generation are pulling fish up, and people are catching Hybrids, White Bass and Crappie below the cable. Make sure your engine is in good operating condition before you go. The water is really swift, and with an unreliable motor you'll be in the trees, on a bridge or on the riprap before you know it. It can go from good to bad in a hurry.
Inflow outlook
The dam has almost caught up with the inflow. Not enough rain fell up north yesterday to keep a heavy inflow coming. John Redmond has some water in it, but releases of probably 6,000 to 8,000 CFS will be manageable. Spring River, Honey Creek and the Elk River will be coming down. As long as they keep pulling water at the dam, the Honey Creek and Elk River arms will clear fastest, and Duck Creek and Drowning Creek will clear from the back out to the main lake. Even in muddy water you can troll up shallow fish on the flats by Governor's Island or the islands at Shangri-La.
On Grand Time
Patricia's site, OnGrandTime.com, has cool new t-shirts (Flathead, Paddlefish, Crappie, Bass and White Bass designs) plus decorations and decals for lake houses. They're great for birthdays or vacation gifts. And check out the fishing lures being made in Greenwood, Arkansas.