Focused Fishing Web Log

Kimberling City Area: Still not many changes throughout the entire lake this past week; the water temperature is up to around 90 degrees by mid day just about everywhere and the fish have moved deep. In the mid lake drop shotting trees on points and bluff ends is still a very productive pattern with watermelon or watermelon / red finesse worms being some of the best colors. A few fish are coming off of boat docks as well, they can be anywhere from under the walkways to in shadow of swim platforms 40’ deep.

James River: The James has not changed much either; most of the fish are coming from deep points and pea gravel channel roll offs; Carolina rigged french fries, lizards and baby brush hogs in green pumpkin, Jewel ½ oz or 5/8 oz football jigs in brown / purple flash with a green pumpkin Chomper Jig Trailer and fat free shad or other deep diving contracts have all been effective baits. Search these locations for isolated piece of cover like brush piles or stumps, these locations will hold the majority of the fish.

White River: The White river is similar to the Kimberling City area; drop shotting trees and pitching Eakins’ jigs to boat docks have been the most effective patterns. UP the Kings river there are a couple of the other patterns that have been effective; in the backs of some of the creek arms you will find large schools of shad, in those areas throw a Lucky Craft R.C. 1.5 or 2.5 crankbait around any wood cover that may be present. On the main lake look for tree rows on flats and pitch 8� – 10� worms to the base of the trees from 6’ to 15’ deep.

Dam Area: Boat traffic is still a concern on the main lake after 9:00am, you are better off moving toward the backs of some of the major creek arms and fishing for suspended fish in trees on points and channel swings. Drop shot watermelon / red finesse worms in the trees from 35’ – 60’ deep. The other option is to head up above cricket creek marina and fish for shallow fish with an Eakins’ jig in brown with a green pumpkin trailer. Look for most of the fish to be on points and bluff ends on both the main lake and in the creek arms.

Main Lake: The main lake is still tough; shaky head worms and French fries on Carolina rigs have been the most effective patterns. Most of the fish have been coming off of main lake points and bluff ends with deep water close by, the short fish to keeper ratio is still around 12:1 but it has been the most effective pattern. A few fish are being caught in the trees in major creeks and large coves; 6� – 8� worms in green pumpkin or watermelon candy flipped to trees as deep 20’ will produce a few bites each day.

Above the bridges: Pitching to visible cover is still your best bet up the river. Look for trees, lay downs and brush on channel swing banks and points from 6’ – 20’ deep. The fish can be suspended or on the bottom so it is important to pay close attention to your bait as it falls as well as when you are working it on the bottom. On windy days there is a pretty decent shallow crankbait bite in backs of some of the creeks; look for large schools of bait around laydowns and stumps and run your crankbait into the cover to get bit.

Walleye are on their normal summer pattern; chasing shad during the low light hours and hunkering down in the mid day. Casting or trolling crankbaits on flats near deep water at sunrise and sunset has been very productive.

Crappie are still in brush piles and can be caught on live minnows from 15’ – 25’ deep.

Dam area to Lead Hill: Most of the fish have moved deep in the last couple of weeks; Spotted Bass have moved off shore and are following schools of shad on points, bluff ends and saddles, Smallmouth have moved out deep on pea gravel points and roll offs and can be caught on Jewel 5/16 oz pro spider or ½ oz heavy cover finesse football jigs as deep as 40’ deep, Largemouth are also holding deeper on points and bluff ends but can be caught as shallow as 5’ deep early and late in the day.

Lead Hill to Power site: Most of the fish have been caught around wood and rock cover on both points and channel swing banks on Eakins jigs and craw combos or 6� Texas rigged worms. Look for isolated piece of cover to hold most of the fish and make repetitive casts to be successful. In the backs of many creeks you will find schools of shad, when you find them throw a square bill around any of the visible wood cover, make sure to make contact with the cover to trigger strikes.

One pattern and three baits sums up Pomme right now; most of the fish are being caught on the traditional Pomme deep bush pile summer pattern. Look for brush piles from 15’ – 25’ deep and work one of these baits; a Jewel ½ oz heavy cover finesse football jig in PB&J with a Chomper green pumpkin jig trailer, a Texas rigged 8� or 10� Power worm in redbug or blue fleck, or a Carolina rigged baby brush hog ion green pumpkin or watermelon candy. There are a few fish coming out of the river but the main lake, deep brush pile bite is much more consistent.

Best fly patterns for the week: Smaller flies continue to dominate; scuds and midges in green, tan or grey. Griffith’s gnats have been effective in low light conditions.

Best spinning tackle: A lot more generation this week and the bite improved; live crawlers, yellow nuggets and super dupers have been effective.

Kimberling City Area: Nothing has changed over the past week other than increased boat traffic and a little rise in water temperature. Most of the fish are being caught out of the tops of trees using finesse worms on drop shot rigs. Look for trees that top out at around 35’ – 40’ of water regardless of the overall depth of the water. Bluff ends, long points that drop into the main channel and bigger, deeper creek arms are all producing fish.

James River: Look for most of the fish to be holding on ledges, deep drop offs and main lake roll – offs. A variety of baits are currently catching these fish; Jewel ½ oz heavy cover finesse football and 5/8 oz football jigs in brown / purple flash or Missouri craw matched up with a Chomper 5� green pumpkin jig trailers, green pumpkin brush hogs and baby brush hogs on Carolina rigs or deep crank baits like Fat Free Shad, DT – 16 or DD – 22 have all been productive. On sunny days Jewel jigs and Carolina rigs are preferred but on cloudy or windy days the deep crankbait bite is much better.

White River: Much like the Kimberling City area most of the fishing on the White River is being done off shore in deep trees. Drop shotting watermelon / red or shad colored finesse worms in the tops of trees is your best bet for numbers of fish. The Kings River has much more stain than the White River and the fish are much shallower; look for the best bite to be on ledges, bluff ends and deep points with an Eakins’ jig in Missouri craw matched with a green pumpkin Eakins’ craw.

Dam Area: The boat traffic from 9:00 am until 8:00 pm make the main lake near the dam impossible to fish, you are better off to go back into some of the deeper creek arms that have enough timber to scare off the jet skiers and look for deep trees. Just like the Kimberling City and White River areas look for trees that top out at around 40’ to be the most productive. Above the Cricket Creek Marina the water is stained and the fish are much shallower holding on ledges and deep points and can be caught on an Eakins jig and craw combo.

Main Lake: The main lake is still pretty tough; while a few fish can be caught on deep main lake points and bluff ends the short fish to keeper ratio is about 12:1. Your best bet is to go back into some of the bigger creeks and fish deeper standing timber for suspended fish. Big worms, Jewel Heavy Cover Finesse football jigs with 5� Chomper Jig Trailers and Texas rigged Brush hogs worked slowly over and through the deeper tree limbs is an effective pattern.

Above the bridges: Flipping on calm sunny days is your best bet up the river. Eakins’ jigs and craw combos, eight inch to ten inch worms, fat tubes and sweet beaver have all been effective around laydowns and log jams. Black and blue, purple, red shad and June bug are all productive colors. Make sure to make multiple pitches to the shady spots in the cover and work the bait slowly through the cover to be effective.

Walleye are being caught by bass anglers all over the lake but most are short fish, trolling is still your best bet around the face of the dam; deep diving crankbaits, crawler harnesses and deep jerkbaits have all been productive.

Crappie are being caught on live minnows in deep brush piles and tree tops 20’ deep and deeper.

Dam area to Lead Hill: The dam area has toughened up over the past week with most species of bass moving out deeper. Look for small mouth to be on pea gravel roll offs into major creek channels and on the main lake; target these fish with Jewel football and spider jigs in PB&J or brown / purple flash. Spots are following schools of shad on steep banks and bluff ends, find the bait and the fish won’t be far; use spoons and drop shot finesse worms in green pumpkin or watermelon. Largemouth are getting harder to find, brush piles around docks and on chunk rock points fished with an Eakins’ jig has been the most productive method.

Lead Hill to Power site: The top water bite early and late is still going on but it is not as good as it was a few weeks back; spooks, sammys and pop-r’s will all catch fish when they are schooling. For the rest of the day a Jewel football jig in brown / purple flash and Missouri craw with a green pumpkin 5� Chomper jig trailer or a Carolina rigged baby brush hog will work in deeper brush piles, on ledges and roll offs in major creek arms and on the main lake. Look for areas with scattered rock or wood cover to hold most of the fish.

The deep brush bite is your best bet right now. Jewel ½ oz heavy cover finesse football or 5/8 oz football jigs, Texas and Carolina rigged 8� worms, brush hogs and baby brush hogs are all effective baits right now. Look for brush piles in at least 15’ deep and as deep as 25’ on ledges, deep points and roll offs. Up the river you can catch a few fish early and late on Jewel Keel Banger Buzz baits in white or white / chartreuse, make multiple casts over and through standing timber and laydowns to be effective.