Fishing Journal Entry 16 - James A Reed - Coot Lake

7/29/2016

After what felt like an extremely long week at work I was able to sneak away for a few relaxing hours of fishing with my dad at James A Reed Memorial Wildlife Area located in west-central Missouri.  
James A Reed Wildlife Area, Fishing, Weather
Today's Weather Stats
The weather for today was very pleasant as you can see from the snapshot above.  I may begin adding the weather details for the fishing and hunting journal entries this way as it is a very simple way to record and share all of the important data that I usually include in these posts.

Sunfish, Fishing, James A Reed Wildlife Area
Dad looking impressed with a small bluegill
This little bullhead was one of three bullheads caught during our outing.
Catfishing, Catfish, James A Reed Wildlife Area
One tiny bullhead
This channel catfish was the biggest of the day measuring about seventeen inches long.  He was released unharmed at the end of the evening.
Catfish, Catfishing, James A Reed Wildlife Area
Decent little channel catfish
This little bass was hungry as anything you've ever seen and did its best to put up a good fight.
Tiny Bass, bass fishing, James A Reed Wildlife Area
A little bass
In all we caught only six fish, but we still had a great time relaxing while waiting on the fish to bite.

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day

Fishing Journal Entry 15 - Lake of the Ozarks Truman Dam Public Access

7/23/2016

Today I took the family fishing at one of my favorite places - Lake of the Ozarks public access area below the Truman Dam.  The weather was extremely hot with a temperature of 98 degrees.
Crappie Fishing, Fishing in Missouri, fishing
Emilee with a crappie
The wind was blowing off and on at about eight miles per hour.  The skies were clear to partly cloudy throughout the day.  Unfortunately I forgot to record the barometric pressure on this trip.
bluegill, small fish, fishing
Cody with a sunfish
Having spent the entire day from noon until 11:30 at night fishing from a dock I achieved sunburned status.  We fished with all types of bait including minnows, gizzards, shrimp, night crawlers, and cut bait.
catfish, tiny catfish, catfishing
Even the baby catfish were hungry!
We managed to catch fish on everything except the chicken gizzards.  Although the fish were biting fairly steadily we didn't catch any giants.  
fishing, catfish, crappie
Some of the fish caught below the Truman Dam
The crappie were biting like crazy at a depth of about 12 feet with the biggest crappie of the day measuring eleven inches long.  
Crappie Fishing, Truman Lake Crappie Fishing, Lake of the Ozarks
Some of the crappie caught throughout the day
We caught several catfish throughout the day. Although many were small, they were still fun to catch.
Catfishing, fishing, Fishing in Missouri
Another small catfish
I was unable to keep track of the total fish count on this trip, but we caught a lot of them!
Fishing, Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Dam
Cody with another fish
Although we didn't catch any big fish on this trip the whole family had a blast.  In my book that's what makes any outdoor experience a successful one!

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day