ONE-FLY OUTING – JUNE 18

For a fun outing that doesn’t take all weekend and within easy driving distance of KC don’t miss this year’s club one-fly outing at Maple Leaf Lake.  It is a fun chance for club members to get together and experience some of the local fishing for bluegill, bass and crappie.  We will coordinate activities from main parking lot which has access to restrooms and fishing docks.  The club will provide lunch and soft drinks at around 11:30.  Get there whenever you can, although the sun coming up on the water early morning is about as peaceful as it gets.  Most people arrive in the morning and leave some time after lunch.

To get there from Kansas City go west on I-70 to Junction H, turn Right to South Outer Road that runs adjacent to the interstate. Turn Left onto the outer road, 1 mile to Maple Leaf Lake.  If you get to Higginsville you’ve gone too far and will have to turn south and back track along the south outer road.  We will meet in the main parking lot.  http://www.anglersfishinginfo.com/mo/mapleleaf/mapleleaflk.htm

The basic approach to the one fly is to see who can use one fly to catch the most fish and the greatest cumulative length of fish, but in the five or so years we have been doing this our record keeping tends to get a little muddled, we sneak in an extra fly or two and can’t seem get around to declaring a winner, so don’t get discouraged and quit if you lose your fly.

There are numerous bluegill opportunities near one of the brush piles or other fish habitats strategically placed around each dock.  For the best bass fishing, however, bring a boat, the standing timber in the lake's western arm provides bass with their favorite places to feed.  Boats with motors of 10 horsepower or less are permitted on the lake, but anglers who bring kick boats, float tubes, or canoes and johnboats won't have far to paddle. Prime fish habitat is within a few quick dips of a paddle. Just position your boat between the buoys on the lake, and you will be right on top of one of many specially built fish habitats.  But be prepared to get hung up. The sunken cedar trees and wooden stakes used to create fish habitat make the lake tricky to fish, but the end result - better fishing - is worth it.

Most manmade lakes have smooth bottoms that don't provide fish with the cover they need to rest, hide from bigger fish or lie in ambush for a meal. But the Conservation Department took care to make this 140 acre lake a great place for fish to live and grow. Originally a 35-acre lake, the Conservation Department converted the old dam into a jetty that extends into the middle of the new lake.

Large underwater earthen peninsulas were added to serve as fish travel lanes around and between the fishing piers and docks. The peninsulas' steep drop-offs provide fish with the protection of deep water. Cedar trees placed in strategic locations alongside these structures give fish cover and attract aquatic insects for them to eat. Recycled cement from a nearby highway ramp construction project provides a maze of underwater rock islands where fish can hide.