Explosive Topwater Bass Action on Nebraska’s Largest River! 
BrianK is not the only one with a favorite wife around here. I’ve got one too. 
So, with both kids being otherwise occupied (thank God for grandparents!), I took my wife Tamara for a Missouri River boat ride in search of some smallmouth bass action. And the river delivered!
With temps in the lower 80’s and the sun working it’s magic I was really hoping we would find a good topwater bite on this trip. It’s something Tamara has not done all that much and I knew she’d have a blast if we found active fish. We hit the water early in the afternoon. I had planned to hit several different sandbars, thinking we’d find a few active bass at each one, get a few hookups and move on to the next spot. But, I was wrong. We found active fish the first spot we hit and these bass stayed hot for 4 to 5 hours. Never leave fish to find fish, especially when your wife looks like she’s having the time of her life!
With Tamara being fairly inexperienced at fishing top water baits, it took her a few tries to get the hang of it. She lost a few nice smallies that decided to go into aerobatic exercises, leaping a good 4-5 feet out of the water. But, in little time she learned to keep solid tension on the line during the high flying acts and I became the world’s most active net boy! And thankfully my netting skills were up to snuff on this day because Tamara managed to catch her largest smallmouth to date. Nice job Tamara! 
The area of the Missouri River we were fishing is known as the National Recreational River which basically lies between Yankton, South Dakota and Ponca, Nebraska. We were fishing the current breaks near sand bars in depths of 2 feet to 5 feet of water. Nearly every fish came on topwater baits, with natural patterned Pop-Rs such as "silver/black" or "baby bass" being the hottest baits of the day. BPS Slim Dogs also took some nice bass today, especially when the bite slowed on the Pop-Rs. I couldn’t ask for a more enjoyable time on the water than watching my wife reel in these high-flying bronze beauties! If you get the chance to do the same, please remember to release smallmouth bass back into the river. The only way we’re going to have any sumo-sized smallies in these waters is if our anglers are wise enough to practice Catch-Photo-Release. Thank you! 
Another smallie pic…
And another…
Great report Wade! Did you find these fish relating more to wood than a rock/boulder structure or did you find all of your fish relating to sand bars? What type of bottom do you usually fish on the Missouri?
Mike, I believe these fish were relating more to the current break than to the shoreline structure, although some did come from the shoreline there was very little timber in the area where the fish were (this time anyway). The bottom content was sand with no rock in the area at all. There were baitfish there, and as you know, where there’s baitfish there’s smallies close behind.
Here’s one more of Tamara with a “little cutie”, as my daughter says…
Wade,
4 – 5 hours, what a day 
Nice report!
You and FW T1 are as good at smallies as you are at marine electronics thingys
dave
LOL – Thank you Dave!
My hand is up! I have a question!
Doesn’t FWT1 hold the largest Large Mouth title in your family?
…and now she has the largest Smallie title too???
…I say no more.
Very nice post Wade and FWT1…some very nice fish!
It’s great when a spouse take the time out of their week and shares time on the water…Thanks for taking the old man out and showing him how it’s done Tamara!
Wade,
Great fish.
Were you above or below Gavin Point dam? I spent some time around Niobrara some about 10 years ago.
John
Great report Wade!!
I would love to fish that part of the Missouri for smallies sometime. A good bite like the one you were on would put a big smile on my wifes face too. 
My wife don’t like fishing, she likes catching! 
Awesome report and pics Wade!
Sounds like you and the family had some good fishing.
I have one question though?
How come Tamara has the pics of the largest fish???
Sorry Brian, I can’t seem to recall…
Nope. I still got that one.
John, This is below the dam. There is some excellent smallie fishing above Lewis and Clark Lake, in that Verdel/Niobrara area. I hope to hit that area again sometime.
Ben, Give me a shout if you’re coming to our area and want to chase smallies.
Rob, I’m sure YOU are all too familiar with having your lady catch the biggest fish. We’ve all seen your reports – or I should say, Stacie’s reports.
Great report Wade, looks like you and FW had a great time. Those are some nice healthy looking fish.
BTW…..Are you and FW coming up this fall?
Thanks Steve. I’m thinking we may be able to make it in September. I’ve shown her your smallie reports and she’s… interested.
Well I had to call Wade to see what the code was. I am so glad I am the favorite one!! Yes, Wade and I had a great time on the river. Gorgeous weather, active fish and daughter at grammy’s. You cannot beat that.
Wade, great report, been there in the spring to hunt morrels, tried to follow some old river rats instructions from a bar napkin and got stuck on a sand bar, we were looking for walleye. Do you have a public landing which is better for this stretch of river where not tooo much moving around is required? There’s a restaurant/landing just past Newcastle, I think that it is under new ownership. Looks like I could try that this weekend.
Nice fish Wade. Thanks for the report and pics. How do you like the top? Been thinking about eventually getting one for July and August use. Would work great for taking little kids fishing too so they don’t get burnt from the son.
Thanks, Bill
Pete,
The river is up a bit right now so you can get around a little easier. I still wish I had a river pro boat to get around all the sandbars. You can put in by Newcastle and fish some sandbars in that area, or go to Clay County Park by Vermillion. Even the Ponca State Park ramp will work right now. When the river drops I’ll probably be puting in at Yankton. There’s smallies all along this stretch of river. They move, so you’ll have to do a little chasing. Maybe we can hit the river together some time, if my wife will ever let me leave her on shore again!
Bill, I love the top and at the same time I hate it. I got the bimini for Tamara (she has the skin cancer issue) and it does a decent job of reducing direct sunlight until the sun begins to set lower in the sky. Then the sun gets you anyway.
As for fishing with it, it’s okay when you’re trolling but it interferes with casting quite a bit. It’s feasible, but not ideal. We make it work.
The landing with the restaurant next to it would be Sportsman’s. If you’re coming up from IA, you have to go past Newcastle, Maskell, and Obert. About 2 miles west of Obert you turn north to get to Sportsman’s.
As Wade said, the river is very high right now, so it is pretty navigable.
Yep… That’s the Brooky Bottom landing. It’s in pretty good shape at this time. There’s a sign that points to Sportsmans on highway 12. You can just follow that road.
Have any of you guys fished Powder Creek yet? I’m thinking of giving it a try.
No, I haven’t been out there yet. I should, beings my wife’s family lives down there, I’m there quite often.