Trophy Country is booked!! 2024

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

6 bassin' buddies and I are finally booked for Trophy Country in North Central Missouri Aug 10th & 11th. Thank you .ghoti. and Long Mike for the recommendation, tips, and tricks! Hopefully I will have plenty to say and show about the trip! I can't say enough about BR members!

roadwarrior reply :

I'm going with Mike & Gary in October. If you guys

like the deal, maybe you will join us again in a couple

of months!

8-)

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

You bet RW! We are hoping it turns out to be a great experience to warrant a semi-annual trip. High expectations my friend!

Bass XL reply :

Keep us updated please! I've always wanted to go there, but just can't seem to pull the trigger.

Long Mike reply :

Bite the bullet Bass XL! Ghoti and I are there at least three times a year! Awesome fishing and awesome scenery!

SkeeterDon reply :

What is Trophy Country?

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

Quote
What is Trophy Country?

http://www.trophycountry.com/Fishing.html#FishingPage

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

BR members

The results are in. 6 guys, 153 bass in about 8 hrs of fishing. I'll start off by saying all 6 of us will be back. We did 1/2 day Tuesday afternoon, spent the night, and 1/2 Wednesday morning.

Tuesday afternoon was brutally hot. Mid 90's, calm and humid. We fished from about 3-8pm. I picked a few off the shoreline near laydowns and standing timber using square-billed crankbaits, but predominately fished open water over humps in weeds--ripping Wiggle Warts (10'), SK Series 5 (12') & 6 (15') through the weeds. I tried lipless cranks - but those were hanging up on the timber down deep. Although there were no giants on the first day, I was very pleased with the action. I did catch a double (14.5 & 16) on SK Series 6 which was a first for me. I was shocked with how their 1.5-2lb bass fought like 4lber's! For the first day, I was at 25 bass with a couple ginormous Sunfish (the biggest I have ever seen or caught).

Wednesday morning 30 minutes after we got out there a big thunderstorm blew in with lightning and heavy rain. By the time the storm blew over, we had about 2 hrs to fish and the temperature was skyrocketing with an East wind. I pulled in 12 bass, predominately dinks. The bites were tough and scattered. I was throwing deep running crankbaits I saw a lot of lookers but few takers as compared to the day before.

For me, I caught 36 bass on deep diving crankbaits and 1 on Cavitron buzzbait. But considering the time of year and the conditions we faced, I'm very pleased with the result. No I didn't walk away with an 8lb'er, but I had a blast. Deep diving crankbaits are dead last on my list for the waters I usually fish, so this was a great new experience for me and a great confidence booster.

Comparing notes with the guys on the trip, here's what they considered effective:

Buzzbaits (hitting throughout the day)

Jig & Pig (shoreline drop offs)

Sinking Worms (deep weeds)

Lipless Cranks (deep weeds)

Fat Ika's (shoreline laydowns, timber)

We would like to get back there in October when the bass strap on the feed bags!! I'll let the other guys chime in with their take.

Long Mike reply :

Mickey, those are outstanding results considering the time of year! I'm pleased that you guys enjoyed yourselves. I hope to meet you sometime in October, but the dates of the 20th-23rd are a no go for me. I will be fishing with my Cajun buddies at Toledo Bend.

Long Mike reply :

Mickey, just got word today. Ghoti, Roadwarrior and I will be at Trophy Country the first week-end in October. Hope to see you there!

oteymc reply :

I may try to come down there one day while you guys are there. I only live about 2hrs from there, I would like to meet you guys in person - and I have been wanting to get down there anyway.

Long Mike reply :

Oteymc, come on down!

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

Argh....

My "day job" has me in New Jersey 9/21-10/1, so that may be pushing it for me! I will try to catch you guys next time for sure. I'll have to try to tie into some of those NJ smallies while I'm out there. Keeps us posted Mike! :-/

CKFishin reply :

Wow I want to go do this after looking at the site...

Long Mike reply :

CKFishin, if you will PM with your E-Mail address I'll send you some photos.

oteymc reply :

Quote
Oteymc, come on down!

I will sure try, will you be there the 1st through the 3rd? Or do you know yet?

CKFishin reply :

Sent mike

Long Mike reply :

Craig, pictures sent.

KansasBassin reply :

I am going to go out Monday for a half day trip. Trying to decide if I should do morning or evening. Leaning towards morning. I need some tips. Think I should stock up on some deep cranks?

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

KansasBassin

I would lean toward afternoon if you're looking to get the most time on the water. By the time you get set up in the morning with trolling motors, batteries, and getting to the water it may take an hour or so before you wet a line. I would try to plan to be on the water shortly after 12 pm and you should be able to fish until sunset.

I was surprised with the afternoon bite when we were there last time. If I were you, I would start fishing with whatever you have the most confidence in. I don't fish crankbaits that often, so it was a pleasure to catch them on crankbaits. Here's what I will bring, the next time I go:

1. 8-10', 12-15' divers in natural and crawdad colors (Strike King series 5 & 6, Bomber Fat Free Shads 1/2+ oz - the bigger lipped-crankbaits got through the weeds and timber easier - smaller crankbaits did not seem to get through the weeds very well). Main forage are crawdads and sunfish. I did notice some small schools of bass fingerlings too.

2. In the waters we hit, the shorelines were not typical and had steep drop-offs at the water's edge. I'm sure you could use soft plastics, but I caught a lot of shorts right off the bank. I could cast deep divers right at the bank and retrieve them with no problem. A lot of times, the bass would hit as soon as the crankbait hit the water.

3. I would probably try some big 10" worms (with a slow fall) to work down the weed columns after the crankbait bite slows down in an area.

The main thing, these bass are not too finicky. Clear water and natural colors are the ticket. Have fun and let us know!!

CKFishin reply :

Quote
Craig, pictures sent.

Place looks awesome I need to get out there once..

VoiceSayZool reply :

Despite living in KC and only being a couple of hours away from this place, I had no idea it existed. Usually I make the trek to Truman, but now I'm interested in checking Trophy Country out.

bigfishtim reply :

I went twice this year,caught ALOT of fish but nothing big. My freinds got turned around and lost after dark on the big lake and were out there till 3am!! Will try again this fall..

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

bigfishtim

that is NOT a good place to get lost. did your buddies hear dueling banjos???

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

Completed another trip to TC and once again (thanks to work and persoanl schedules) we sizzled on the john boats in 100+ degree weather for 2 full days of fishing. The four of us totaled 411 bass and some ginormous crappie. There were no secret lures/techniques. Everyone was fishing their strengths and everyone was successful. The biggest catch was 4.5#. Bloody thumbs, hooked fingers, good fellowship, and plenty of fluids made a great trip. We fished Upper and Lower Duck, The Islands, Upper and Lower Cedar. Upper and Lower Duck were most productive. Water level was significantly down on Long Lake - so we skipped it. For me, Rattling KVD 2.5 (Orange Bell Craw), SK Series 5 Deep Diver (Red Craw), and Koppers Deep Diver 8-10' (Natural Craw) were my weapons of choice that yielded 129.

Others in the group used buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and frogs to name a few.

CKFishin reply :

I really need to get there

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

Just got back from my first Fall trip to TC late last week with temps ranging from high 40's to low 70's and 20-30 mph winds from sun up to sun down. 40# trolling motors on john boats made it tough to move around. On average we were each catching 25-35 LM and Spots per day, predominately using 5/8oz XCalibur Squarebills XCS200 in crawdad colors. The early mornings and evenings we were able to catch some on topwater (buzzbaits, Sammys, Spooks).

Bass were relatively shallow and grouped along main lake points, but it was next to impossible to stay stationary for any length of time with the wind. Secondary points and coves were productive as long as we found green vegetation 5-6' deep. 75% of the time the vegetation was dead or dying (brown). We could pick off a few away from the wind, but it was sporadic and they were small in the 10-12" range.

I would characterize the fall fishing as quality over quantity. I caught twice as many bass during the dog days of summer, but most were in the 12-14" range. The fall trip, the bass were bigger (and fatter) - mostly in the 14-16" range, with more 17" and 18"ers predominatly Spots which was awesome. They were knocking my Sammy out of the water, hitting it 2 or 3 times. Cavitrons were driving them nuts parallel to the shore at sunrise/sunset. My deep-divers (Koppers Live Target Crawdads 17-20') caught more frisbee-sized crappie than bass.

We tried to fish 2 or 3 pits a day:

Lower Duck - good

Upper Duck - good

The Islands - good

Big Blue - poor

Upper Cedar - average

Trails End - average

I can't wait until Spring already...gonna be a long winter...

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

A group of us had to run to the butcher this week (to pick up our annual beef) and we were 45 minutes away from Trophy Country and decided to make a quick fishing trip. With snow on the strip pit hilltops, we packed up our parkas and gear. We have never been there prior to May. Let me tell you, the water was cold, the wind cut right through you, and the fish were hiding. We fished an afternoon and morning with lows in the 30's and highs in the upper 40's. I managed 14 bass and 4 crappie and never felt one bite. I enjoyed fishing the new SK Jerkbait 4.5" and some new Kopper's Squarebills, but had to fish S-L-O-W which was still too fast for these strip pit bass.

The water levels are back to normal after 30" snow this winter. Boat ramps have been moved up on the banks, but the mud and clay made it tough. They've added more boat ramps to a few pits which is better than railroad ties. Sounds like business is picking up. Kurt and Duke mentioned they were booked every weekend in April. I'm glad we tried it this early in the season, but I'm not sure I'd do it again. It was better than organizing my tackle and watching fishing shows. We'll probably plan a trip in another month if we can get out of this cold weather.

CKFishin reply :

Yeah I have a group of buddies going next weekend I opted out due to way too much going on right now...

TrapperJ reply :

Just watched Jimmy Houston fish there on his last show, i told me wife.... "i smell a trip coming up!"

Revo_Carrot Stix reply :

On 4/3/2013 at 9:52 PM, TrapperJ said:
Just watched Jimmy Houston fish there on his last show, i told me wife.... "i smell a trip coming up!"

Cool. I haven't seen that episode, but we were down there May 2012 when he shot that show. I think he was turkey hunting and didn't have much luck. He caught a big bass when he was fishing for crappie on Long Lake. We didn't have a chance to talk to him. He was leaving the day after we got there.

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