Milford and CPAA

[20_lb_sack]

Thanks to everyone that answered my emails and inquires about Milford Lake. Central Pro Am has a reputation of having some pretty salty fishermen and Milford flat kick a$$ on some of the best fishermen in the Midwest. Any time 40 of the top fishermen can only manage one limit in two days of fishing you know it is tough. Despite the fact that few fish were caught, the lake did show the quality of fish available, with a five pound largemouth and a smallmouth just short of that mark being caught amateur anglers. I ended up tied for twelfth, just .17 out of the money, with a single largemouth caught of day one. I must say that Junction City did roll out the red carpet for the tournament, I wish we had been able to make a better showing.

[H2O_Fowl]

I know there will be some replies to my reply on your post but here it goes.

That just shows you that KS bass fishing is tough at best in our large lakes. Oh there are alot of smallies in that lake but keepers are just not there in numbers. The results do not suprise me at all.

Junk town does roll out the red carpet. I was there on Weds of last week and there were already signs up around town welcoming the central pro am.

[Jiggernaut]

Milford can be cruel and inhumane like that sometimes. It has given up 14 lb stringers this year, though, too, so it can also be very good. I think the lake fishes kind of small and it's a tough with a lot of boats and a lot of good anglers on the water at the same time. There are many days I have struggled catching all kinds of shorts but no keepers and then other days when you whack some 4 or 5 lb smallies. There has been relentless pressure on that lake in the last year or so and I think it's starting to show. It seems like the largemouth fishing has improved some over the last year and the smallmouth fishing has declined some. This is from a local's perspective, though, and sometimes you get in a rut on your home lake. It's all relative. To an angler from Missouri or Oklahoma, we don't have diddily for bass fishing, but for an angler from Nebraska or Colorado, we have great fishing. It all depends on your perspective. Just my .02. Oh, and good job David. Sounds like you did OK considering the conditions.

[Jiggernaut]

David,

I heard the wardens were really rigid, threatening to arrest anyone that came in with a short fish. Is this true? I also heard that several anglers had right at 15" but were too nervous about bringing them in. Also heard something about they make you measure your fish with belly facing you. What difference does that make? It seems like the wardens have been overly anal on that lake for some reason. Our club has had more run ins with wardens in one form or another on that lake over any other. Geez!! Don't get me wrong, I don't condone bringing in a short fish, but they've been tough on folks for everything.

[R.D.]

Sounds like you had a good time David. I guess congrats on finishing that well considering the fishing.

[R.D.]

If it's short it don't get weighed, just goes back in water.......whats wrong with that. Most anglers have decent livewell systems.

Now if you bring a short fish in & it's dead, that's a whole nother story. I have heard stories of guys bringing short-dead fish to weigh in & getting fined but not arrested. I think that would be a little overkill.

Jason you are right on people from different states. Missouri, Oklahoma & Arkansas are the top 3 in mid-west yet Kansas still has very good lakes that offer good fishing for the area. It is still a good drive for me to go to Milford but it is better than fishing a 300 acre lake around here too. People from Colorado think Nebraska has good fishing though so that ain't saying much but I think that Kansas has good resorces for lakes. The only 2 in NE that I know of that have good bass #'s are Red Willow & Harlan County lakes. Smallies are found in upper end of Lewis & Clark lake & in river up through Verdel,NE & into SD....according to Brian Caughron who runs ABA D59.

[TimS]

Jason pretty much summed it up. Milford is very streaky, especially with all the pressure. Some Wednesdays with nothing but locals that fish the lake all the time 4 lbs will win and other times it will take 15. The KSU tourney last spring with a 4 fish limit took 16 lbs+ to win. Pressure and time of year undoubtedly made a huge difference over the weekend.

Surprises me about the game wardens, all the tourneys I have fished out there I have never seen one anywhere near us. With the amount of smallies in that lake that are between 14 7/8" and 15" I bet there was a lot of measuring and decision making to be done. Nothing worse than letting one go and then having to second-guess yourself the rest of the day, especially when one fish could make a huge difference...

[Caugh1]

Ryan, SHHHHHHHH!!!!! its is a smallie factory! lots of fish though it can be tough at times. You need to come and fish it with me sometime this next spring or fish my ABA on June 24th. Brian

[R.D.]

Sorry Brian but it must not be too much of a secret. I ran into a guy fishing Burchard & said he fished up there of & on throughout the year & said he really liked it there. He said the same thing about getting boats stuck too........must have happened to him. I really wish there was a good smallie lake closer to home though....I'd be out there every weekend.....well atleast the ones I could get free enought to fish.

Say that reminds me. I talked to Mike after our Sept 24 T & I think I will go to Milford. He has had a hard time getting new people to attend. I like Mike & he's a great guy to talk to so I think i will help him out by attending his T on Oct 22nd. I would really like to fish Mozingo but I can do it another time. I hope I did not disappoint you by telling you I was thinking of attending your T & changed my mind..........My wife says it's a guy think....

[Jiggernaut]

Lewis and Clark Reservoir on the Missouri is a great smallie lake. I'm from SD originally, so I've fished it before. I would love to go up and fish it again sometime. Haven't fished it since 1999.

[R.D.]

I've never been there so I would like to fish it sometime too.

[Caugh1]

Any time you guys want to go let me know! call me at the shop 402-474-2244 the best time is in June IMO July is good as well. Brian

Ryan no big deal tell Mike hello Iam going to try and fish a few of his tourn. if I can schedule them in.

[20_lb_sack]

Yes they did, well, not arrest but ticket anyway. They made a big speech at the pre tournament banquet. Explained that they were going to measure each fish at the ramp and ticket any shorts. Said they would only measure with the belly away from the warden and pinch the tail, using a "The Judge" board. I've been in tournaments where the official board was not the most common used by the competitors, in this case a "Golden Rule", so I think it made a few people nervous. I did hear of a few people that didn't bring fish in because they were afraid they wouldn't measure. However, when they came to check our fish on Saturday, they just looked in the live wells, made a grab or two at the fish, never got them and said they looked alright.

[R.D.]

Guess the speach worked then, got the anglers thinking about size limits * spooked them out of there 14.99" & 15.10" catches.