Fishing on Table Rock Lake

5/3/08 Table Rock Fishing Report

Kimberling City Area: The bite has changed a little in the last week but for the most part it has gotten better. While there are still fish to be caught in the shallow flooded timber the best bite is out away from the bank. The fish are staging in a big way for the spawn [...]

Kimberling City Area: The bite has changed a little in the last week but for the most part it has gotten better. While there are still fish to be caught in the shallow flooded timber the best bite is out away from the bank. The fish are staging in a big way for the spawn and as soon as the water warms there will be a mad rush to the bank to spawn. The best bite over all has been on a 4” Chompers single tail grub in smoke / pepper or salt and pepper rigged on a ¼ oz. jig head. Look for the fish to be holding from the old bank line out to 30’ feeding on shad and crawfish. Day to day the fish will change the depth they are holding at in that range, one day they will be on the bottom the next they will be suspended less than five feet deep, pay attention to your electronics and vary the depth you are retrieving your bait until you find the fish.

James River: The bite up the James has been very good this week as well, several fish have already moved to the beds in the warmer water. While it is not a full on assault of the bank, there are enough fish up making beds that it won’t take long before they lock on and actually spawn. The best bite has been off of the beds on a combination of a Carolina rigged lizard or brush hog and a Jewel Football Jig. Look for long tapering pea gravel and mixed gravel rock points near the mouths of spawning coves and pockets to hold the most fish and work either presentations from 15’ – 25’ deep. Color selection is pretty standard Table Rock fare; brown / purple flash or PB&J on the jig and green pumpkin with some sort of flake (red, blue, purple, etc..) on the lizard and brush hog.

White River: The White River really turned around this week, the bite has been a little slower than the rest of the lake but this week it turned around. The grub bite has picked up following the same presentation as the Kimberling area, the jig and Carolina rig bite is working well on the mouths of spawning pockets as well and up the Kings River there has been a resurgent spinnerbait bite. Chompers McCutchen spinnerbaits work parallel to large logs and other debris in shallow spawning pockets has produced some very nice fish over the past week. These fish appear to be large females that are holding tight to the wood cover waiting to move in and spawn.

Dam / Branson Area: Despite the cold front the bite at the dam area has changed little, still several fish being caught on Chompers single tail grubs and the shaky head and split shot rig bites are coming into their own. Just like the rest of the lake the grub bite is in and around spawning coves, the fish on the lower end have not begun their spawn yet but they are grouped up and poised to move shallow en mass. Pay attention to the depth the shad are holding in around the dam, it will give you a very good idea where the fish will be holding. The shaky head and split shot bites are not as dependable as the grub bite but the quality of fish seems to be much more consistent. Fish either presentation in the same area as the grub on the bottom from 15’ – 30’ deep. Best baits have been green pumpkin fish doctors and french fries on the split shot and finesse worms and Senkos on the shaky head.

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4/27/08 Table Rock Fishing Report

Kimberling City Area: Water, water everywhere……. Still over flood pool and the bite is beginning to transition. While there are still several fish being caught on Chompers Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbaits up on the bank on whatever cover the fish can find, better numbers of fish have begun to be taken out away from the bushes [...]

Kimberling City Area: Water, water everywhere……. Still over flood pool and the bite is beginning to transition. While there are still several fish being caught on Chompers Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbaits up on the bank on whatever cover the fish can find, better numbers of fish have begun to be taken out away from the bushes on main lake and secondary points. Flat pea gravel and mixed gravel and rock points have been the most productive from 18’ – 24’ deep with Chompers 4” smoke / pepper or salt and pepper on a ¼ oz. head fished on the bottom or green pumpkin Zoom Fish Doctors on a split shot rig. With either presentation dip the tail of the bait in chartreuse to increase visibility in the stained water.

James River: Some of the warmest water on the lake is up the James River; temperatures are as much as seven degrees warmer in the James than the main lake. Some different patterns have started to emerge as the fish are moving shallower and starting seek out spawning locations. While several fish are being caught on spinnerbaits, the best bite has been on points adjacent to spawning coves using a combination of split shot rigs and jigs. While several fish have been caught on main lake points, better quality fish are coming on secondary points further back into the creeks directly in front of spawning pockets. A variety of baits have been effective on a split shot rig; lizards, fish doctors, french fries and baby brush hogs in watermelon or green pumpkin have been tough to beat. Brown / purple flash and green pumpkin / candy flash 5/16 Jewel Spider jigs with green pumpkin Hyperflex Grubs have also been working on these points, a hop and drop retrieve is the most effective.

White River: The bite up the White has been a little different than the rest of the lake; plenty of fish are being caught on Chompers grubs on main lake and secondary points just like in the Kimberling area, the split shot rig has also been effective, the spinnerbait bite is also a viable alternative from Baxter to Eagle Rock. The Kings River has warmer water then most of the lake and fish are starting to group on points close to spawning coves, split shot and Carolina rigged lizards and baby brush hogs are catching both numbers and quality on these points. A few fish have been caught on shallow crankbaits in and around the trash in the back of spawning pockets as well, look for areas with fresh water running in and groups of shad to be the most productive.

Dam / Branson Area: The best bite on the lower lake has been outside of the bushes and trees on flat gravel points. Chompers’ 4” single tail grubs in smoke / pepper and salt and pepper have been very effective for both numbers and quality. Position your boat in 24’ – 31’ of water, make casts to the edge of the bushes, allow the bait to fall on a semi-slack line , then retrieve (scrub) the bait along the bottom back to the boat. Pay close attention to the bait as it falls next to the bushes, there are still fish suspended in the bushes and a number of bites will come as the bait falls. There is a topwater bite starting to emerge in the dam area as well, while not a consistent pattern, it is a good idea to have a spook or Sammy handy when fish begin to surface.

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4/13/08 Table Rock Fishing Report

Kimberling City Area: First let me apologize for the lack of reports over the past couple of months, I have been extremely busy with off the water projects and when you combine that with guiding there just haven’t been enough hours in the day to sit down and write any reports. O.K. now the good [...]

Kimberling City Area: First let me apologize for the lack of reports over the past couple of months, I have been extremely busy with off the water projects and when you combine that with guiding there just haven’t been enough hours in the day to sit down and write any reports. O.K. now the good news, the mid-lake area is on fire, water is up almost 20’ feet and dropping and the fish have finally acclimated to the high water. The best bite by far is on a spinnerbait, white and chartreuse or all chartreuse with painted willow leaf blades is the ticket. Personally I prefer the new Jerry McCutchen spinnerbait from Chompers, ½ oz. chartreuse / white with two chartreuse willow blades. Look for banks that are fairly open to be the best to fish; get in behind the brush and cast to anything you can see in the water. Most of the fish are coming from the bank out to about 10’ deep.

James River: The James has been very productive as well, the color is starting to clear and there are a couple of bites starting to develop. The best bite is still a spinnerbait, same pattern as in the Kimberling City area. In addition, several fish were caught over the weekend on a shallow crankbait; Lucky Craft R.C. 1.5 & 2.5 in chartreuse / black has been the best color, just like the spinnerbait, hold the boat in 6’ – 10’ of water and hit everything use see with the crankbait to e successful. The floating worm bite is starting to heat up as well, if the wind ever quits blowing this will become a very strong pattern, match the worm to the water color, dirtier the water bright the worm.

White River: The clearest water on the lake is in the White River, all of the water coming out of Beaver has pushed the dirty water to beyond the mouth of the Kings. Just like the rest of the lake a spinnerbait is the ticket right now, same pattern but use white and shad colors seem to be a little more productive in the clear water. Have spoken to a couple of anglers that have been doing very well on weightless Senkos and Floating worms in the backs of creeks and big pockets out of the wind. This is a target specific pattern; you will need to throw the bait at something (bush, tree, lawn ornament, etc…) to be successful. I can’t emphasis enough the importance of hitting the cover with whichever bait you choose, I caught two fish off of one wood pile (yes, a pile of firewood) on Friday both over thee pounds.

Dam / Branson Area: The lower end of the lake has had the toughest fishing, spinner baits are still king but the fish don’t seem to have moved to the bank in the dam area like they have on the rest of the lake. Most of the fish are being taken on the outside edge of the bushes near the old bank line; in addition you will need to slow roll the spinner bait through the bushes to draw strikes. Further up Long Creek the bite is similar to the Kimberling City area and James River, Chompers McCutchen spinnerbaits and Lucky Craft R.C. series crankbaits have been effective on flat shallow points.

2/25/08 Table Rock Fishing Report

Kimberling City Area: The bite continues to be tough. The deep bite is inconsistent at best and the jerkbait bite has never really come around either. Best bet for the deep bite is to target bluff ends and deep trees in the guts of creeks. Look for birds to help locate the schools of bait [...]

Kimberling City Area: The bite continues to be tough. The deep bite is inconsistent at best and the jerkbait bite has never really come around either. Best bet for the deep bite is to target bluff ends and deep trees in the guts of creeks. Look for birds to help locate the schools of bait and fish Bink’s Spoons, Chompers Drop Shot worms and grubs in and around the schools of bait. You will likely see a number of fish on your electronics getting them to bite has been the trick. Rogues, pointers and Vision 110 jerk baits have all been catching a few fish, windy chunk rock banks and points have been the best locations with most of the fish coming off of isolated pieces of cover on these banks. A few fish are still being caught around boat docks on Jewel Eakins and Pro Spider Jigs matched with Eakins craws and Hyperflex Grubs. Look for larger commercial docks on or near points to be the most productive.

James River: Usually one of the first areas of the lake to heat the James continues to be tough. The amount of cold stained or even dirty water that has come in over the past week has slowed the fishing down. The best bite has been on either jerkbaits or jigs. Rogues and Pointers have been effective around isolated cedar trees and other cover on chunk rock banks and points particularly on windy days. Jewel ½ oz. Heavy Cover Finesse Football jigs in brown / purple flash and green pumpkin / candy flash with green pumpkin Hyperflex grubs have been working on these same banks from 15’ – 30’ deep. Work the bait extremely slow along the bottom to be effective.

White River: Much like the rest of the lake the White and Kings Rivers have been slow as well; until we get a prolonged warming trend the bite will continue to be tough. The best pattern has been working Jewel Pro Spider jigs and Hyperflex grubs or Chompers Ultra Tubes slowly along the bottom from 15’ – 35’ deep on chunk rock banks or points and bluff ends. The deep bite is inconsistent on this end of the lake as well with the Baxter area being best. Bink’s spoons, Chompers Grubs and Drop Shot Worms have been effective if you can get the fish to bite.

Dam / Branson Area: The lower end of the lake is in the late winter doldrums as well, there is a deep bite on Bink’s Spoons and Chompers Drop Shot Worms when you can find fish holding close to bait. Much like the mid-lake area let the birds show you where the bait is and look for fish close by. The jerkbait bite has been tough but there are a few large fish showing up each week, target isolated cedar trees and other cover on bluff ends and deep points, allow the bait to pause as long as 30 seconds next to each piece of cover to be effective. This is tough fishing so prepare yourself for very few bites but the quality has been excellent.

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