Fishing the Courtois Creek

The middle of March is the beginning of some of the best smallmouth bass fishing Missouri has to offer on this overlooked creek. Several outfitters service the Courtois Creek and some of the best areas to fish are between the access at Berryman Road and the confluence of the Courtois and Huzzah Creeks.

The Courtois Creek is floatable above the Berryman access but not a lot of water is available during the dry seasons. I have floated from Brazil access to Berryman in one day in January several years ago. It is a long float for this time of year due to limited daylight hours and my partner and I did finish the last mile in the dark. If you float during the cold season, you must be prepared for the conditions. In case you get wet, a dry change of clothes and the ability to build a fire are essenitial.

Through trial and error, I have found the best float fishing on the Courtois Creek is from the Berryman access to Bass River Resort. If you rent a canoe from the resort, they will take you to Berryman and you can float back to your vehicle parked at the resort. This float is approximately 11 miles of stream but if you would like a shorter trip they is another access they will put in that is approximately 6 miles of stream. The shorter trip access is called Blunt Road Access - sometimes called Misty Valley due to an old outfitter that is no longer in business here.

From Berryman Road Access to the Huzzah Creek there are miles of clear water filled with Smallmouth Bass, Goggle-eye, Largemouth Bass and Spotted bass that do not receive a lot of fishing pressure. The best time to fish this water is during the spring and fall – before and after the traditional float trip season. The Courtois Creek receives a lot of float trip traffic and the waterway can get crowded on the weekends. If you do fish the creek in the summer months try to do so during the middle of the week for less traffic.

The water flow in the creek is gentle and suitable for most people regardless of experience in operating a canoe. As the creek meanders through the valley there are a few places along the way that can be tricky to navigate. A couple of sharp turns and narrow passages create some faster moving water but still things a novice can handle. The beauty of this area is the water is clear and only is stained during rainy conditions. There majority of the stream is not much deeper that five feet with a several deep holes along the way.

Recommended fishing tackle for an outing on this stream is light to medium action rod and reels. Rod length is best at no greater than six feet due to tight cover requiring short casts. My choice is a five and one half foot pistol grip casting rod with a high-speed reel. In addition, I do carry a medium action-spinning outfit for ease of casting lighter offerings.

When floating a stream always keep your rods stored inside and below the top of your watercraft. Many times, you will travel under low-lying overhead cover that can snag your rods and pull them from the canoe or boat. If not pulled from the boat, rods may hit the occupants when the pull loose from the snag or hit an occupant.

A small tackle boxe filled with soft-plastic lures, weedless jigs, spinnerbaits, topwater (including buzzbaits) and shallow-running crankbaits complete the ideal lure assortment for a day -long outing on the Courtois Creek. Buzzbaits and spinnerbaits with a chartreuse skirt are very effective on smallmouth bass. The other lures are best in natural colors with jigs and soft-plastics in green pumpkin and crawfish. My choice for topwater and crankbaits is natural shad colors.

Soft-plastic lures presented with a football shaky head offer anglers a snag resistant, very effective lure. The screw lock keeper holds plastic lures securely to the head as well as covering the hook point creating a weedless offering. Football shaped jig heads reduce the chance of your lure to become wedged in the rock bottom of the stream. Most soft plastic lures work well on this type of jig head but the stream bass generally prefer a crawfish imitator in natural colors. The jig head also helps keep a crawfish lure in a “pinchers up” position; this is the defensive position of a crawfish. Bottom bouncing lures are effective any time of year and water temperture.

Buzzbaits and spinnerbaits are good choices from mid-spring until late fall. Chartreuse skirts are always my color choice with nickle, willowleaf blades. Chartreuse, it seems, attracts violent stirkes from smallmouth bass. Willowleaf spinnerbaits blades create less lift when retreived and lift is something not necessary in these shallow water streams.

Topwater poppers and chuggers in natural color patterns generate intense stirkes from all three species of bass during the warmer seasons. Your assortment of these lures should include the Storm Chug-Bug, Storm Baby Chug-Bug and the Rebel Pop-R in shad color patterns.

Shallow running crankbaits can be effective at times but are more difficult to present in the smaller streams. If used, I suggest it done so in the deeper and slower moving waters. Deep water is relative to the surrounding water and 5 feet is deep in the Courtois Creek. A shad imitating crankbait running 1-2 feet below the surface will entice bass to come up from deeper water to attack the offering.

After you set out on your fishing adventure floating a small stream remember to let the fish tell you what they want that day. Use this as a guide for lure choices but do not be afraid to experienment with other lures and presentations. The bass in the Courtois Creek are generally willing to entertain you all day, but I have had days when it seems nothing could make them bite.

Locating Bass Fishing Areas

Anglers of all skill levels are constantly in search of productive fishing areas and getting the maximum reward for their efforts. Fishing areas that have the ability to hold bass for extended periods will not hold feeding bass throughout an entire day of fishing. The bass that use the area as their home will only feed at certain times during a day. Successful anglers are able to locate the areas where bass live and determine the times they feed.

The first step in this process is to locate areas where bass reside most of the time. While bass are caught shallow at anytime, they seldom reside in shallow water for an extended period. Therefore, deep-water bass are more predictable when it comes to locating them. Deep water is a relative term and bass holding in deep water are affected by the thermocline when it is present. Lowland lakes deep- water holding areas are much shallower than deep-water hideouts highland lakes.

Locating bass fishing areas is a seasonal approach. During the summer and winter, bass generally live in deeper areas. Spawning bass will hold in shallow water for longer periods to complete the spawning cycle. In the fall, bass will scatter more than other seasons and is the most frustrating season for some anglers. Some will still be holding in deep water while others have already made the move to shallow areas to chase schools shad.

Isolated, submerged cover will concentrate bass better than a lot of scattered cover in the similar areas. They will sometimes use this cover for ambush points to attack prey that venture close to the cover. However, bass will also wonder outside the cover to chase unsuspecting prey. In addition, sometimes bass will use only one part of the cover more than to ambush prey for reasons not evident to anglers. When presenting lures to cover, anglers should do so from all available directions as well as over the top and through the center of the cover.

When locating bass fishing areas, Midwest Fishing Tackle Staff Member, Aaron Hunter reports “Main and secondary points are always my first stop. If I can find cover located on these points I target that cover.” Regardless of the season and water temperatures, Hunter says, “Points always have the ability to hold bass. Points are like highways for bass to travel from deep to shallow water. The seasons do not matter, when bass have deep water close to points that have shallow banks, bass will be close by.”

When choosing lures offer the bass a variety until they indicate what they prefer. Do not limit lure selection due to cover you are fishing. Many anglers use only Texas rigged plastics and jigs for fishing cover. Crankbaits are one example of lures effective for covering a lot of water and are effective when fishing brushy cover. The crankbait bill will somewhat protect the hooks when retreived and are better at getting through cover than many anglers realize.

Deep-diving crankbaits on ten-pound test florocarbon line is an effective technique to find isolated cover on points. The lures will reach depths of 20-feet or more and contact the available cover giving away its location on the bottom. When crankbaits deflect off the cover, they will draw a reaction strike from nearby bass.

Carolina rigged plastics are another way to cover water quickly and locate the available bottom cover. The heavy sinkers allow anglers to distinguish between rock and wood cover. Slowly dragging a Carolina rigged soft plastic will draw strikes from lethargic bass that will not take a fast moving crankbait.

Once productive cover is located jigs and Texas rigged plastics are a great technique to slowly pick apart of piece of cover. The slow moving lures often aggravate bass into striking because they want to chase off or kill the lure.

Because bass are not always feeding, the second key to getting the most from these areas is to be fishing them at the time the bass decide to feed. Many productive areas have been abandoned by anglers because they determined the bass were not present when the bass were not feeding during the time the angler was there. It is best to have located a few potential areas close to each other and rotate between them throughout the day. This increases the chances you will be on at least one of them when the bass decide to feed. Aaron Hunter says, “I rotate between a few spots throughout each day on the water. Bass do not always feed at the same time on each spot and I feel I have more opportunities each day by doing this. Also, I can still get reaction strikes from bass that are not actively feeding.”

To better your chances of catching bass pick a few areas and patiently present lures to all sides and in the middle of the available cover. Rotate between these areas during your fishing time and visit each several times throughout the day.

Every Little Angler Needs an Old Man

Two young boys and an “old man” walking the bank of a small pond. Sharing an afternoon together casting for anything that will bite. The boys were accomplished anglers for their age. Both began fishing while still wearing diapers. The “old man” was their teacher this day. Like everyday before, the little anglers absorbed all the information the “old man” was willing to share.

Many years ago the “old man” was a student and had his own “old man”, his teacher. They shared similar days on and around the water eager fish called home. He too absorbed all the information his teacher was willing to share. While growing older, becoming a teacher and an “old man” in his own rite, he continued to absorb any information available about fishing. He became more knowlegeable than his teacher, but always gave credit to his “old man” for building the foundation of his education.

As he grew older, he shared all of the knowledge he had aquired with anyone willing to listen. He made it a point to share with young anglers. Doing so, he hoped, would help build another foundation for a lifetime of learning about his favorite outdoor sport. He was developing stewards to take care of the great outdoor arena he would eventually leave to them.

As the two boys learned about fishing, they were also learning about nature. The three of them spent countless hours catching fish as well as observing Mother Nature. They caught frogs, insects, learned to identify plants, trees and weather patterns. Many of the insects they captured became bait for fishing. Many times the insects were tossed into the water and observed until a fish decided to make of meal of them.

As the three of them continue slowly walking the edges of the water, they offer small spinnerbaits and soft plastics to the panfish and bass. The “old man” uses a child size outfit making it easier to hand it to one of the boys when he hooks a fish. The boys always get to reel in any hooked fish. The “old man” dedicates his efforts on these special days to his two little anglers. He has not brought any of his own tackle on this day. He seldom uses anything but the children’s tackle when sharing the water with these boys. The “old man” will ocassionally sneak a couple of casts with his equipment when the boys are exploring the areas around the water. He keeps a watchful eye on them and exploits every opportunity to teach them when they discover something interesting.

They discover an area where deer visit the pond to drink. The boys learn to identify a track left by the deer using the pond for their source of water. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear turkey and raccoons use the area. The boys spend the rest of the day closely watching the ground for signs of other animal using the pond for water.

After a couple hours, the boys lose interest in fishing but the adventure is not over. The three of them take a walk through the woods seeking new discoveries. The boys do not realize it but the class is still in session. They continue to learn new things about nature and the “old man” discovers he is both a teacher and student.

Note: Both men and women can play the “old man” role and age is a relative thing. My “old man” was my Uncle Larry who always made time to take me fishing. Please remember to include a child in your fishing plans.

Understanding the Thermocline in Lakes

Discussing the Thermocline can be a very detailed and scientific subject. However, for this the basics will be covered in how the Thermocline relates to the behavior of bass. From spring to fall the Thermocline affects bass behavior in several ways.

In late spring the surface water in most lakes has warmed into the low 70-degree range while the cooler water is well below the surface. Surface water in this temperature range still holds plenty of oxygen so the bass have not yet started to migrate into the deeper water. However, as the surface temperature rises into the low 80-degree range, bass will seek the cooler water that holds more oxygen. The warm surface water doesn’t hold enough oxygen to keep the bass comfortable and this is when they seek the deeper water.

The Thermocline is a small area of water that lies between the warm surface water and the deeper water that also holds little oxygen. Most of the time this small area of water is only about ten feet from top to bottom. In the deep Ozark lakes there are sometimes exceptions to this rule and the Thermocline can be up to thirty feet from top to bottom.

In mid-summer largemouth bass will generally hold close to cover and/or structure near the upper edges of the Thermocline. When an angler finds the Thermocline this is great starting point for the proper depth to locate bass. A depth finder with the sensitivity turned up makes the Thermocline visible on the display. It will look like a false bottom reading on the display.

At Lake of the Ozarks the Thermocline will generally be found about 25 feet deep and only reach down to about 35 feet. In Table Rock Lake – a much clearer body of water - the Thermocline generally starts about 60 feet deep and can extend to about 80 feet deep.

Lake of the Ozarks is best fished during the summer at night due to the amount of boat traffic during the day. The Thermocline still hold at the same level and should be the targeted depth for bass fishing. June through August is best fished with a bottom-bouncing lure like a jig, plastic worm or heavy spinnerbaits. However, most of the time the bass will only be active near the Thermocline.

Table Rock Lake is best fished at depths of 60 – 80 feet deep since this is the depth where the summer Thermocline is generally located. There are only a few effective means to get a lure this deep. A Carolina rig can be fished this deep. However, my favorite is to vertical jig a small plastic worm on a ¼ ounce jig head or a jigging spoon presented at the required depths to reach the bass.

Spotted (Kentucky) bass will suspend just above the submerged treetops that are still abundantly available in Table Rock Lake. They will school together at the same general depths most of the summer so once located they are easier to follow at later times. Again, the key to this location is the Thermocline affecting the behavior of the bass.

More Bass Fishing Information available at http://BassFishingMidwest.com

Spanish Lake Park offers good crappie fishing

Spanish Lake Park offers good crappie opportunity for St. Louis area anglers wanting to stay close to home. The park features two lakes, Spanish Lake is 34 acres and Sunfish Pond is 31 acres. Both have concrete boat ramps and fishing docks for disabled anglers and hold good population of crappie. The two lakes have depths of approximately 15 feet; they have plenty of submerged cover and shoreline irregularities. The water is generally clear to stained.

Recently I caught up with Tony Pearson, he is a crappie angler who spends approximately 50 days per year on Spanish Lake, and he had some advice to share with anglers looking for suburban crappie opportunities. Tony said, “Crappie fishing on this small lake is not much different than crappie fishing on big lakes.”

Upon on further questions about the techniques Tony uses he explained his approach to fishing Spanish Lake. He uses a 16-foot boat rigged with a small outboard on the transom and trolling motor on the front. Tony said, “I use two main techniques when setting up my rods. I either present lures into cover or drift areas where crappie are likely to be found.”

When dropping lures into heavy cover he recommends using a long rod and jigs just heavy enough to get them deep into the cover being targeted. Tony says, “A 1/32 ounce jig head with an 1 ½ inch curl tail or tube jig is my most productive lure. I seldom use anything heavier than 1/32 ounce because crappie feed on bait above them due to the placement of their eyes; they have better sight when looking up.” He also added when the fishing is slow, “I will tip my jigs with a wax worm.”

Color selection varies each trip and he changes colors regularly until he finds a color the crappies prefer. Generally, he uses natural colors but in stained water he opts for darker colors.

Tony’s advice for an angler not familiar with Spanish Lake is to target points where cover is present. There are many trees lying on the bank of the lake as well as some submerged brush piles. He said. “During the coldest and hottest months I target the deeper submerged cover but during the spring and fall the shallow cover is the most productive. My lure choice remains basically the same throughout the year.”

Spanish Lake Park rules restrict the use of gasoline engines. However, as long as they are not started, it is acceptable to use boat with them attached. The lakes are small enough that an electric motor is plenty of power when fishing these lakes.

Fishing Lessons

Over the years I have been blessed with many fishing partners. Some have become regular partners while others were just a one-time event. All of them have shared knowledge while on the water and I have learned something from every one of them. A few have become a fishing hero of mine..

Many years ago a gentleman took it upon himself to become my mentor and take me fishing at every opportunity we had available. He made time during my spring and summer vacations to teach me everything he knew about fishing for many species but he concentrated on my desire to catch bass. It was this wonderful man, my Uncle Larry, who built the foundation for my love of fishing.

Prior to him making it his job to educate me on tactics and techniques my limited experience of bass fishing had been approached using simple means. Live bait was the best way I knew of for catching bass even though I knew there were many reasons anglers spent hard earned money to buy artificial lures. My knowledge was lacking on how to use anything but live bait and my confidence in using artificial lures was extremely low. I had caught very few bass with lures and looking back it was due to lack of knowledge and confidence in them.

At approximately the age of ten years is when my fishing lessons began. My Uncle Larry took me on many outings and continued to keep the fishing simple using techniques I was comfortable with. While doing so he slowly added information on using many other techniques and was so subtle in doing so I did not realize he was conducting a class.

My most memorable lessons were given on a lake in Georgia that was surrounded with a golf course. If my memory is correct the lake was about 200 acres. The lake had a channel running through it at a depth of about 20 feet. The channel was very pronounced for such a small body of water and had shallower water on both sides creating a drop of about 10 feet into the channel. It was the middle of March in Georgia and the bass were ready to move into the spawning areas. The bass were in the pre-spawn stages and starting to feed heavily. The bass’ first stop on the way to the spawning areas were the edges of this channel and Uncle Larry was ready to teach me how to exploit them.

For over a year I had been carrying two bags of Culprit plastic worms in my tackle box. Both bags were still full but Uncle Larry convinced me to open them. He taught me how to use a Texas rig worm that day and the technique was very productive. We caught many bass that day and kept some for our meal that night. The lesson on that private Georgia lake started something that has still not ended.

My confidence in using plastic worms caused my curiosity to lead me to using many different types of lures. The confidence my uncle helped create kept me using them while in the past I would make a few casts with each and set them aside for more simple techniques. Slowly I began getting better and more confident with every lure type

It was not long before I was not satisfied with walking around a pond or fishing from a rented johnboat. My first boat purchase was a 14-foot johnboat with a 7.5 horsepower motor and I rigged up a mount on the front for a trolling motor. This first watercraft was not a high performance machine but it did widen my opportunities for fishing.

Not long after my first boat purchase I joined a bass club and began competing in tournaments with the other club members. Because my boat was slower and not suitable for tournament fishing I competed as a non-boater. This is where I also learned a lot about bass fishing. Everyone in the club shared information and techniques and I soaked up all the information they were willing to share. This lead to my second and third boat purchases so I would be equipped to compete as a boater in the club and many open tournaments.

Many years and tournaments later I was blessed with the first of two little boys and once again I began learning more about fishing. While I did enjoy the competitive fishing these two little anglers took me back to a time of walking the shores of farm ponds. My years of getting fishing lessons from others made me a better teacher for these two little anglers. While teaching my sons to fish I immediately started them fishing with beetle spin lures small enough for eager bluegill to take. They did not have the patience to watch a bobber float on the pond surface and wait for the fish to come to them so I took advantage of this weakness. Also, this rig made it easier on me by not having to bait hooks. Not only were the bluegill eager to eat these tiny lures some bass up to 14 inches also attacked them. A 14-inch bass on a kid’s small rod gets quite exciting for all involved.

Now my fishing lessons have started all over again from learning the basics to the latest techniques and back to teaching the basics again. I learned two very important lessons from these three anglers. Great relationships develop between anglers regardless of age when they share fishing time together. Also, fishing is just as much fun whether covering a lot of water in high powered boats or walking around a pond with young anglers eager to learn more on each outing.

Simpson County Park bass fishing in St. Louis County

On a recent fishing trip to a local St. Louis County Park lake it was clear that fall fishing has arrived. The bait-fish we cursing the surface and the bass were feeding heavily on them. Top water lures and spinnerbaits were very productive for the schooling bass and a brush jig was effective for the bigger bass holding in the shoreline cover waiting to ambush prey.

During just two hours on the water my partner and I boated approximately two-dozen bass on top water and spinnerbaits and had three nice bass fall victim to a brush jig. The jig bite was slow and our presentation had to be exact.

Floating cover near the spillway of the lake is where the bigger bass were found. The water falling over the spillway produce a slight current and it seemed to concentrate the bait-fish and bass. The smaller bass were following the bait-fish throughout the lake and were eager to smash a Rebel Pop-R. A spinnerbait moving about two feet deep also took several of the smaller bass.

The lake is located Simpson Park in southwest St. Louis County. It is a 72-acre lake with a boat ramp. Gasoline motors are not allowed but bass boats can be used with a trolling motor. The ramp is shallow and launching bigger boats can be difficult and have to be winched back onto the trailer when loading.

This was my first outing on this lake and I have heard complaints from anglers fishing it from shore. However, much of the lake is not easily accessible from the shore. The most productive areas found this day were also not available to shore anglers. St. Louis anglers with a few hours and access to a boat should consider this lake.