Fishing Report from Last Weekend- The Fish

Yesterday, I wrote about different lakes in Missouri that are stocked with rainbow trout by the Missouri Department of Conservation.  I included the names of some of the lakes in Missouri that are currently catch and release.  Last Saturday, Wendy, her son, my boys, and I were able to fish at Liberty Park Pond in Sedalia, Missouri, and had some pretty good luck.  It is a catch and release lake until Jan. 31 so that means that all 1,302 fish that were put in the lake in early November are still there.  Actually, I can vouch that one trout is gone but we will get to that in a moment.

Today's post is going to focus on the fish that we caught.  Overall, most fish that were caught seemed to be slightly larger than the trout that I have caught at Capital Federal Sports Complex in Liberty, Missouri, as well as the fish that I have caught at Jesse James Park in Kearney, Missouri.  I am curious if larger fish get stocked in the lakes that are catch and release until Jan. 31 or if this was just an anomaly.  I managed to catch one trout that was 15 inches and put up a heck of a fight.  The fish also had great color and were aggressive with their takes and fights.  

I also fished with 6 pound fluorocarbon that came right off a spool of fishing line.  The water is pretty murky so you can get away with thicker line.  I think that is good for the fish because you can horse them in a little faster and get them back in the water a little faster as well.  I also find myself having more aggressive hook sets which leads me to having a higher rate of fish landed.  I think I only lost/missed three fish total over the course of the day.  I think that speaks to the aggressiveness of the takes as well as the stronger hook sets that I was able to muster.  We fished 1/80 ounce jigs under indicators exclusively but I will get into that with more detail tomorrow.

I also encountered another fisherman while I was at the lake as well.  After catching three trout in one spot, I decided to move to another location.  As I started my walk, I caught some movement out of the corner of my left eye.  I spun to my left just in time to see a fully mature bald eagle swooping out of the sky.  I informed my oldest son of what I saw and we both observed the bird take a trout off the surface of the water and fly off towards the horizon.  It was an incredible moment and memory that we will never forget.  However, I want everyone to know that I have already contacted the local game warden to inform him that the bird was not practicing catch and release.  Even American symbols are not above the law!  Totally kidding there by the way.  In all seriousness, I see at least one bald eagle every time I visit this lake and that is not an exaggeration.  More information will be posted tomorrow about the flies we used last Saturday.

This was the trout that was 15 inches and I swear that I measured it.  The picture doesn't do it justice and doesn't make my current hair style look very complimentary either.