Small Lake Profile- Tobacco Hills Lake

Name
Guy B. Park is the name of the conservation area and Tobacco Hills Lake is located within the area.
Links:
Area Summary- http://mdc7.mdc.mo.gov/applications/moatlas/AreaSummaryPage.aspx?txtAreaID=9428
Area Regulations- http://mdc7.mdc.mo.gov/applications/MoRegs/moarearegexceptions.aspx?txtAreaID=9428&txtAreaNm=&txtCounty=&txtRegion=&txtUserID=&txtDivision=&txtDoveMap=notfound 

Location
The conservation area and lake are located about 3 miles north of Platte City.  If you take I-29, you will end up taking the 371 exit and heading north again.  You will go past and antique mall (which I have always wanted to stop by) and then left into the area.  Follow the big brown signs and you can't miss it.

Species to target
Bluegill is the name of the game.  According to the Missouri Department of Conservation Area Summary, Tobacco Hills Lake holds a fair population of bass and crappie but has a "Special Bluegill Management" program and large bluegill are common.  There is an 8 inch minimum length requirement for keeping bluegill and a 10 fish daily limit.  I have seen other areas have upwards of a 30 fish daily limit and no length requirement so this is a pretty special place and a heck of a place to fish.

My buddy Jim with a small bass he caught at Tobacco Hills Lake.

With that being said, I have caught  some bass there in the past and it would stand to reason that with that many bluegill, there should be some bass gorging themselves on sunfish.  There is a 12-15 inch slot limit for largemouth and while it IS public water, I suspect that there might be some nice bass that could be caught on bluegill imitating flies/lures or maybe even some aggressive catfish that are behaving in a similar way.

Spots to try
Everywhere.  I'm not kidding.  I have caught bluegill almost everywhere in that lake.  Middle of the lake, around cover, around structure, where creeks feed in, and even the boat ramp.  There is A LOT of fish in this lake!

Flies/Lures to use
You can either get as technical as you want on this lake or keep it simple.  A mini jig under an indicator should work just fine but feel free to employ wooly buggers, dries, and nymphs should get some bites as well.  I've caught fish on olive woolies, a McGinty, a John Deere, and a Griffith's Gnat on the same day.  I've also picked up bass on John Deeres and woolies as well.  These are a nice surprise after catching 20-30 bluegill and will get your attention quickly.

McGinty

John Deere

Pearl Olive Wooly Bugger a.k.a "The Christmas Tree Ornament".

White, olive, and olive grizzly wooly.