Hazel Creek Lake
May 19, 2002 5.8 pounds Buzz Bait, water muddy |
The latest news about Hazel Creek Lake is that there has been a 427 acre land sale of the watershed area of this lake by the City of Kirksville. |
 |
Hazel Creek Lake Fishing Prospects 2006
Information: (660) 785-2420
Fishing will be much the same in 2006 according to fish surveys conducted in 2005. Although young largemouth bass numbers are improving, the 18-inch minimum length limit will remain in effect. While bass numbers are low to moderate, average size is impressive. Nearly 50% of bass caught by anglers will be greater than 15 inches long and two out of ten fish are expected to be 18 inches or longer. The white crappie population continues to improve, but most fish caught by anglers in 2006 will be less than 8 inches long. Muskie fishing is predicted to be fantastic in 2006. Nearly 50% of the muskies captured with fyke nets in spring 2005 were 36 inches or longer including 46" and 47" fish that weighed 30 pounds each! In order to safely release these large, toothy predators at boat side, anglers should keep a floating ruler, needle-nose pliers, hook cutter and leather gloves handy. Anglers who wish to assist first-hand with muskie management in Missouri are encouraged to participate in the ShowMe Muskie project, a volunteer angler diary program. Channel catfish in the 2 to 4 pound range are available, but not in great numbers. Blue catfish were stocked in 1990 and may be caught using dead shad as bait. Bow fishing for common carp and grass carp is encouraged and can be very exciting throughout the spring and summer months.
| Hazel Creek
Hazel Creek Lake is located 4miles north of Kirksville, Mo. and 2 miles west of Hwy.63. Go north from Kirksville until you see the Hazel Creek CA sign on the east side of the highway, turn left (west) at the gravel road. With plenty of accessible shoreline and two boat ramps, this is a must fish lake. There are privies at both ramps, MDC posted message boards, and plenty of cover near the ramps. This 530 acre reservoir fishery is managed and maintaned by the Missouri Department of Conservation. The land around the lake is city owned. With fishery studies done regularly to access the forage and livery of the fish population and sizes. Hazel creek is a must for serious anglers pursuing serious fish. Loaded with monster bass, fat channel cats, chunky crappie, enormous muskie, and giant carp that will make you absolutely weak in the knees! Stocking began in 1983 when the lake was made. Muskellunge have been stocked since 1983. A spring 2001 MDC survey declared Hazel Creek one of the best in the state at netting muskies. Daily nets captured an average of 2.3 muskie per day and the largest at 43.5" long! The largemouth bass are easily catchable throughout the lake. With many timbered coves, and thanks to the rainfall in the last few years we now have shoreline cover. Many rip rap points, islands, bottom channels, and runoff areas to find and catch fish. If your catching bass, watch for Mr. Muskie to be tagging along close behind, you will get some follows. The crappie are spread everywhere through the lake. Once you find a school of them, stick with them, and you'll clean house. Carp are large and found mostly in the backs of coves out of the wind. A good area is the big cove across from the north boat ramp.
|
Limits : Bass: (2) less than 18" Prot. Crappie: 15 fish Muskies: (1) less than 42" Protected Channel & Blue cats combined: (4) All other fish combined: 20 |
|
This would be a great place to advertise your facilities. Boats, Camping, Antique Shops, Motels, Guide Services. Become a mosportsmen supporter today!
AREA SERVICES
|
Missouri Department of Conservation needs your
help!!
If you fish for muskies, and would like to be a helping
hand then contact, Mark Boone, Muskellunge Program Advisor, MDC, 2302 County
Park Dr., Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. The program is the Show-Me Muskie Project.
Missouri lake list
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a cool April morning and
I had just worked a graveyard shift at a local restaurant. Being that I
was up, the skies were overcast, and I felt like going fishing, off I went
on a journey that would captivate my mind for all eternity.
It was approximately eight o'clock in the morning as I pulled up to
one of my favorite fishing holes. After a few casts to get into the hang
of things (preseason backlashes), I decided to try one of my favorite flooded
timber patches. This is an area that I can go to and catch Largemouth Bass
on every visit. As I'm contemplating if the bass have spawned or not, I
see movement on a shallow flat about fifty yards from me, assuring me the
bass ARE spawning. Tying on my favorite 1/4 ounce Terminator Spinnerbait,
I proceed to make attempts at catching this monster lurking in the shallow
grass.
As I prepare myself mentally, going over the thoughts of, "Spawning
bass hit the lure lightly and move it quickly away from the nest, so be
ready to set the hook abrubtly." So as my ten pound Spiderwire follows
my spinner bait close to the shore, I see more movement coming from about
ten feet from where I had seen it earlier. Now I'm thinking to myself that
there are two spawning bass, "What Luck!", I thought. "I knew this would
be a good day," as I made yet another unsatisfied cast. At this point I'm
starting to get agitated trying to figuire out why I can't get this bass
to hit. Just as I'm about to Cast again, I see this monster roll on top
of the water with his/her tail out of the water. All I could say to myself
was, " There goes Moby Dick!!" Quickly I gain my momentum, as I toss my
spinnerbait in the direction of the "White Whale." Just as soon as my lure
hits the water it starts to churn with activity. It looked like a school
of piranha feeding in a bathtub. Just then my line started to zing across
this shallow flat. As words from Hermann Melville raced through my mind,
I knew I had a fish to be proud of. Ten minutes into the fight, he got
me wrapped around one little limb and I thought surely he was gone. But,
with great dexterity and courage my spiderwire didn't fail me. About another
minute is all it took for me to reach my destination, my largest Missouri
Muskellunge. It was a proud time, with a quick run to get a camera, a quick
click and measurements, my trophy was set free to live and fight again.
He was only 38.5", weighing 19 lbs. He wasn't the "keeper" size fish that
day, but he is still a trophy in my mind. I hope someday we meet again.
Shawn Grosekemper
|
Limits: 2 Daily: Protected under 18"
|
 |
|
If your looking for large schools of slab meat, look no further. There
are more crappie than you can shake a stick at (or the end of your rod
at least).
Limits: 15 fish |
 |
  |
Muskies
As you can see there are many more toothy critters just waiting to munch on your favorite lures. Don't be shocked if you break em' off, it happens to the best of us. That just makes ya' come back for more! Limits: 1 daily:
|
 |
Taylor's First Lunker
Taylor, like most kids sometimes get bored if fish aren't biting real well and tend to want to play around. This was the case here when Taylor wanted to use the lures in my tackle box, simply because they were different from his. His experimenting with a 1/2 oz. tandom willow leaf spinner bait and some inconsistant lure retreival methods landed him a nice lunker. Taylor was on cloud 9 with his catch, as are most bass anglers when they land their first lunker, I couldn't tell him no when asked if he could mount it. It was 18 1/2" weighing 3lbs 8ozs. Good Catch Taylor! |
 |
This channel cat fell to a 3" pumpkin and pepper tube
jig right along the dam. There are good numbers of channel cats in
Hazel Creek Lake along with some flathead and blue cats too.
Channel & Blue cats combined: limit (4) daily |
Let Your Voice Be Heard
If you have ever fished Hazel Creek Lake in Kirksville and been annoyed by the cities’ restriction on gasoline motors, now is the time for you to let your voice be heard.
The City recently rejected a plan to build some basic camp sites at the lake for lack of a review of watershed use and a master plan. If the city were aware how many anglers they turn away or at least annoy with the current restriction and realize how many more out of town dollars Kirksville may get if they made the lake more user friendly they may move toward a change.
Email me with your feelings. tommorrow@sbcglobal.net
Photos from College, Dear Mom...send spinnerbaits! by Nathen Alexander
 |
Here is a picture if a muskie I caught at Hazel Creek. I attend college
at Truman State University, and my roomate and I love fishing the lake
for muskie as well as bass. I'm really interested in catching some of
the monster crappie in the lake as well. I fish Hazel Creek religiously
with my roomate, who has a bass boat up here. There are not many college
students here interested in hunting and fishing. I was lucky enough to
meet up with my roomate my freshman Hazel Creek has actually become our favorite lake. The bass we catch
in the lake are absolutley awesome. We rarely catch a bass under 15 inches,
probably because the size of baits we use; and I would say that more than
50% of the bass we catch are over 18 inches. This fall we were going there
at least twice a week, and won a couple local Friday night pot luck tournaments.
I have attached another picture from |
 |
I don't know a whole lot about muskie fishing. I have been researching their feeding habits around the spawn, and when and where the best places to catch them are. I am really excited to get back out there after this ice thaws. I have had many encounters with them at Hazel Creek however. We have seen them in the back of coves, we have hooked them while bass fishing and broke our line, and we have even seen them swim up to the side of the boat. An interesting story, at the end of this summer my roomate and I were fishing near the damn and it was very hot. I decided to jump in and cool off. I was in the water for maybe a minute, when my roomate saw a little better than 40 inch muskie swim about five feet from me. Let me just say I high-tailed it back into the boat.
Thanks,
Nathan Alexander
nathandaniel11@hotmail.com
|
|
