3/15/10 Table Rock Report

Kimberling City Area: The entire lake is warming up and the bite has gotten better throughout. In the mid lake three patterns are producing most of the fish. The first is a 4” single tail grub fished on a ¼ oz. jig head, smoke, salt and pepper and green pumpkin have been the best colors, [...]

Kimberling City Area: The entire lake is warming up and the bite has gotten better throughout. In the mid lake three patterns are producing most of the fish. The first is a 4” single tail grub fished on a ¼ oz. jig head, smoke, salt and pepper and green pumpkin have been the best colors, look for steeper banks with isolated wood cover to produce best. Cast toward the bank, allow the bait to sink to around 10’ and then make a steady retrieve back to the boat. The second pattern is a wiggle wart fished on chunk rock and channel banks, position the boat in 6’ – 10’ of water and make cast ahead of the boat parallel to the shore. Maintain bottom contact through out the retrieve. Finally the stickbait bite is hanging on and producing some better quality fish; look for steeper banks with isolated cover to be the best locations.

James River: The stained water of the James has warmed nicely with the recent weather, white bass have started their spawning run and can be caught from Bridge Port to Galena, swimming minnows and 4” grubs are both producing nice limits of fish. The bass fishing has improved as well; Jewel Eakins and Football jigs are producing in and around laydowns and other wood cover through out the river, stick baits continue to produce around isolated timber on channel and other steep banks and a single tail grub is catching both numbers and quality from the mid James down to Aunts creek.

White River: The White River has seen a ton of traffic since the FLW Tour event was in town, it’s no secret where the fish to win it were caught and the upper White is getting a ton of attention. The best bite has been on a couple of baits; 4” and 5” single tail grubs in smoke and avocado fished on a ¼ oz. head in and around timber of steeper banks and channel swings has been very productive. Secondly, a wiggle wart fished on 45 degree chunk rock banks both on the main lake and in the creek arms will produce.

Dam Area: Top two patterns on the lower end have been a grub and a jerkbait. Just like the rest of the lake a 4” single tail grub fished on ¼ oz. head on windy points and channel banks will produce both numbers and quality. SPRO McSticks and Mega Bass Vision 110’s continue to produce both largemouth and smallmouth on the lower end, feel free to work the bait faster now that the water has warmed and windy points close to spawning areas should be worked over thoroughly.

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2/28/10 Table Rock Report

Kimberling City Area: The mid-lake area has gotten a little tougher over the past week, stickbaits are still an effective presentation but they have given way for more finesse approaches in recent days. Steeper channel swing banks are still holding the majority of the fish both on the main lake and in the creek arms, [...]

Kimberling City Area: The mid-lake area has gotten a little tougher over the past week, stickbaits are still an effective presentation but they have given way for more finesse approaches in recent days. Steeper channel swing banks are still holding the majority of the fish both on the main lake and in the creek arms, while rock is important a mix of chunk rock and ledge has been a better choice than sheer bluff walls. Mega Bass 110’s and SPRO McSticks continue to be the stickbaits of choice in the mid lake, with pro-blue and blue bandit out producing other colors. Allow the bait to rest from 5 – 15 seconds between jerks to draw strikes. Chompers single tail grubs and ultra tubes have been an effective finesse technique. Fish the same steep bank locations cast toward the bank and allow it to fall to between 8’ – 15’ then make a moderate retrieve back to boat.

James River: The stained water of the James has been warming faster on sunny days than the rest of the lake. Stickbaits and jigs have been the most productive choice through out the mid and upper James River. Look for steep banks and points with wood cover to out produce flat gravel right now, cast SPRO McSticks in Norman flake and Rogues in clown and gold beyond the cover and work them back to the boat. Jewel Eakins’ jig and craw combos in brown / purple flash and Missouri craw have been effective in wood cover on these banks as well.

White River: The White River continues to produce with a variety of patterns; Drop shot rigs and spoons are effective in and around deep tree tops in the larger creek arms, stickbaits and grubs are producing on steep banks throughout the river and creek arms and jigs have been producing on rocky banks toward the backs of bigger creeks. The deep bite has been best from Baxter to Campbell point, ½ oz and ¾ oz spoons or ROBO and Chompers drop shot worms have been working on main channel tree tops from 35’ – 55’ deep. Locating schools of shad has been the key, if shad are around the fish will be active. Vision 110’s and McSticks have been working on swing banks around isolated timber throughout, let the water clarity determine your bait colors and work the baits with a PB&J or brown / purpl flash have been the most productive, work the jig from the bank through the channel to be effective and pay close attention to any wood cover.

Dam Area: The deep bite is still the most effective on the lower end, ½ oz and ¾ white spoons, 4” Chompers single tail grubs and ROBO or Chompers drop shot worms fished from 35’ – 55’ deep have been the most productive methods. Look for birds to indicate bait location and in turn fish locations then fish vertically. The stained water of Long creek has gotten allot of attention over the weekend. Some of the warmest water on the lake is in Long Creek and it is producing on a variety of baits, stick baits and Eakins’ jigs fished on steeper banks are producing quality keeper largemouth. Look for ledge rock and chunk rock banks to out perform bluff walls and wood cover is almost a guaranteed bite.

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2/21/10 Table Rock Fishing Report

Kimberling City Area: While the stickbait bite is still putting fish in the boat warmer air and water temperatures have changed the complexion of the bite this week. SPRO McSticks, Mega Bass 110’s and Rogues will still produce but fish are transitioning from bluff and channel swing banks to more gradual sloping rock banks. Look [...]

Kimberling City Area: While the stickbait bite is still putting fish in the boat warmer air and water temperatures have changed the complexion of the bite this week. SPRO McSticks, Mega Bass 110’s and Rogues will still produce but fish are transitioning from bluff and channel swing banks to more gradual sloping rock banks. Look for isolated cover on these banks to be successful. Grubs and tubes are becoming a more dominate pattern; smoke or salt and pepper baits on ¼ oz. heads fished around isolated timber on deeper points and channel bank ends suspended from 6’ – 12’ deep over as much as 40’.

James River: Water temps are still coldest in the James River. On sunny days the additional water color will warm up fast but on cloudy days water temps remain in the low 40’s. Stickbaits are still working on channel swing and bluff banks but brighter colors, bleeding shad, clown, etc, have been more effective than natural ones. Look for isolated wood cover to hold the bulk of the fish. The jig bite is starting to pickup in the upper James, look for channel swing banks and work Jewel 3/8 oz. football jigs with Chompers jig trailers from the bank through the channel to be effective on the main river and the bigger creek arms. Missouri craw, black / blue flash and brown / purple flash have been effective colors.

White River: The White River has been the most diverse arm of the lake this past week; stickbaits, drop shot rigs, grubs and jigs are all working from Baxter to above Eagle Rock. The stickbait bite is similar to the rest of the lake; Mega Bass and SPRO baits have been the dominate baits in Pro Blue, Norman Flake and Blue Bandit, look for isolate timber on steeper banks in larger creek arms to be successful. Drop shotting Chompers and Robo Worm drop shot worms in and around standing timber from 35’ – 50’ deep in larger creek arms, look for birds and bait to be successful. 4” single tail grubs in smoke and salt and pepper fished on steeper banks in and around standing timber continues to be effective throughout the White River. Jewel 3/8 oz. football and Eakins jigs and craw combos fished in the last channel swing in the bigger creek arms has been producing numbers and a few better fish, brown / purple flash and PB&J have been the best colors. The rain over the weekend has dirtied the water in the Kings and water temperatures are rising quickly, wiggle warts and jigs have started to produce and this bite will only get better.

Dam Area: The Dam area is still producing fish on stickbaits, drop shots, spoons and jigs. Just like the rest of the lake steeper banks are producing most of the fish on a stickbait, look for isolated wood to improve your odds of getting bit. ½ oz and ¾ oz white spoons and drop shot rigs with Robo or Chompers worms are working well in the larger creek arms from 35’ – 65’ deep. Look for fish to be holding close to deep trees waiting on schools of shad to move through, when the shad are present the bite can be fast and furious. Jewel ½ oz football jigs with Chompers jig trailers have been very effective on the last couple of channel swings in the bigger creek arms, work the bait from the bank through the channel to be effective.

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2/14/10 Table Rock Fishing Report

Kimberling City Area: The stick bait bite has become more inconsistent over the past week; fish are still being caught on Mega Bass Vision 110’s and SPRO McSticks but the bite is not as predictable as previous weeks. Look for fish to be suspended on main lake and secondary points and bluff ends, isolated timber [...]

Kimberling City Area: The stick bait bite has become more inconsistent over the past week; fish are still being caught on Mega Bass Vision 110’s and SPRO McSticks but the bite is not as predictable as previous weeks. Look for fish to be suspended on main lake and secondary points and bluff ends, isolated timber on these points is a definite bonus. The best bite has been on a single tail grub, fish a 3” or 4” smoke, avocado or green pumpkin grub on a ¼ oz. head in and around timber on points and bluff ends. These fish are suspended from 5’ – 15’ deep over any overall depth. Cast the grub toward the bank and count it down to the desired depth, the bait will fall approximately 2’ per second, then use a moderate retrieve.

James River: The colder water of the James is still producing fish even though it is as much as 4 degrees colder than the main lake. The stick bait bite is a little stronger than the rest of lake up the James; Mega Bass and SPRO stickbaits have been the ticket on isolated wood cover on main lake and secondary points. The colder water means you will have to let the bait sit a while longer than on the lower end between twitches. Toward the back of the back of the bigger creek arms Jewel Eakins jig and craw combos are working very well on channel swing banks.

White River: The White River continues to produce; from Baxter to Shell Knob a good jerkbait and deep bite exists, the grub bite has been good throughout the White, above Shell Knob add an Eakins jig and craw combo to the mix and up the Kings mixed bags of bass and walleye are being caught on stick baits and wiggle warts. For the stick bait bite look for isolated wood cover on main lake and secondary points, the same areas are producing on a 3’ or 4” single tail grub, and channel swing and bluff banks will produce with an Eakins jig combo. The biggest news has been the emergence of walleye making their spawning run up the Kings River; stick baits and wiggle warts are producing fish on channel banks from Viola to the 86 bridge, it appears males are further up river now and females are not far behind.

Dam Area: Two distinct patterns are working on the lower end of the lake. Spoons, drop shot rigs and vertically fished single tail grubs have all been effective in and around deep channel trees in the major creek arms. Look for birds to indicate the location of shad and in turn fish in the channel of creeks. Once the bait is located fish will be close by holding in trees on the channel edge. The second pattern is a suspended grub bite; 3” – 4” single tail grubs on ¼ oz. heads cast beyond isolated trees on bluff ends and steep points, count the bait down to around 10’ and retrieve at a moderate speed by the tree.

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2/8/10 Table Rock Fishing Report

Kimberling City Area: Despite the colder air temperatures water temps have remained relatively constant. Spoons, drop shots and grubs fished 30’ – 60’ deep on main lake and secondary points have been very productive this past week. Look for schools of shad to be successful. The jerkbait bite continues to produce better quality fish [...]

Kimberling City Area: Despite the colder air temperatures water temps have remained relatively constant. Spoons, drop shots and grubs fished 30’ – 60’ deep on main lake and secondary points have been very productive this past week. Look for schools of shad to be successful. The jerkbait bite continues to produce better quality fish on chunk rock secondary points, Mega Bass Vision 110’s, Spro McSticks and Lucky Craft Pointers in natural shad colors are all catching fish around isolated cover. Allow the bait to sit for 5 – 20 seconds between jerks to be successful.

James River: The James River is still producing fish. In the upper end stickbaits have been more productive than other presentations. Look for flatter main lake and secondary points that have a deep drop on one side, work from the deep side and bring baits from shallow to deep, pay close attention to any wood cover on these points. With the amount of snow and rain over the past few weeks there has been substantial run off coming into the larger creek arms. Fish the last channel swing in these creeks from the shallow side to the swing and through the channel with an Eakins jig and craw combo. Work the bait slowly through the channel to draw strikes, when a fish is caught work the area over carefully as multiple fish be in small areas along these swings.

White River: The most productive are of the lake continues to be the White River. From Shell Knob to the confluence with the James there is a very good deep bite on bluff ends and points, spoons, drop shot rigs and grubs have all been effective around schools of shad in these locations. Jerkbaits have been very effective as well on main lake and secondary points, look for isolated cover on flat rocky points to be the most effective, allow the bait to sit for 5 – 20 seconds close to the cover. Further up stream on both the White and Kings look for fish to be holding tight to rock and wood cover on steep banks, Eakins jig and craw combos and Jewel Football jigs are producing fish in these areas.

Dam Area: On the lower end the deep bite is still the most consistent and predictable bite. Schools of shad are holding in and around trees of the main channel in major creek arms and large schools of Kentuckies are following them. Use white ½ or ¾ oz. spoons, 4” single tail grubs and shad imitating soft plastics on drop shot rigs in and around the bait and the cover to be successful. Toward the backs of these same creeks largemouth can be caught on jerkbaits fished tight to cover on secondary points and channel banks. The clear water of the lower end may require longer pauses between jerks so allow the bait to sit as much as 30 seconds between jerks.

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