Focused Fishing Web Log

Kimberling City Area: The Corps of Engineers has been running water continually for the past couple of weeks making the deep bite tough and positioning fish on points and swings through out the lake. The current added to the high water have made two distinct patterns very strong. On the main lake and in the bigger creek arms several fish are being caught on Jewel 5/16 oz and 7/16 oz. Pro Spider Jigs in PB&J or green pumpkin / green flash. Match both of these jigs with a green pumpkin Chompers 4� jig trailer and drag the bait on the bottom on main lake and secondary points from 10’ – 30’ deep. On windy days switch over to either a Smithwick Rouge or Lucky Craft Pointer and target isolate pieces of wood cover on main lake and secondary points. Use reflective colors like chrome / black or American Shad on sunny days and matte colors like Chartreuse Shad on cloudy ones.

James River: The water in the James has really good color from Aunts Creek on up to above Cape Fair and the water gets progressively colder as you head up stream. Around the Aunts Creek area target ledges on both the main lake and in the creek arms with an Eakins’ jig and craw combo in Missouri craw or brown / purple flash. Pitch the bait to the bank and allow it to free fall from ledge to ledge paying close attention to your line as the bait falls, most of your strikes will come as the bait is falling. Further up stream a jig is still an effective choice but a Smithwick Rouge or Lucky Craft Pointer will produce a bigger bite. Fish transition banks and points with isolated pieces of cover and allow the bait to suspend by the cover for 10 – 15 seconds before moving it again.

White River: While there still is a decent deep bite on War Eagle Spoons and Drop Shot Rigs up the White River the current from the influx of water and the amount of generation on both ends of the lake has made shallower patterns much more effective. Eakins jigs in PB&J or brown / purple flashed with a green pumpkin Eakins’ craw fished on main lake bluff ends and channel swings as well as channel swings in bigger creek arms has been very effective. Smithwick Rouges and Lucky Craft pointers have been working well around isolated cover on steeper banks and points and a few fish have been showing up on Storm Wiggle Warts fished parallel to 45 degree chunk rock banks in the Kings River.

Dam / Branson Area: The deep bite is still effective in the dam area but much like the rest of the lake you are better off looking to main lake or secondary points and channel swings for a consistent bite. Jewel Pro Spider and Football Jigs in PB&J or green pumpkin / green flash have been very effective when fished on points from 10’ – 30’ deep through out the dam area. Keep the bait on the bottom and pay close attention to any cover you run into as it will likely hold most of the fish. On windy days a Smithwick Rogue or Lucky Craft Pointer fished close to isolated trees and other wood cover on mixed rock banks and points will produce some better fish. Up Long creek several fish have been caught on steep chunk rock with Storm Wiggle Warts paralleled from 6’ – 12’ deep.

Main Lake: With the influx of cold water on Stockton the jig and jerkbait bites have strengthened. For the jerkbait bite look for mixed rock banks and points on the main lake and in major creek arms with isolated pieces of cover to be holding the better fish. Make casts beyond the cover toward the bank and work the bait back to the cover, allow the bait to suspend for 5 – 20 seconds next to the cover before moving the bait again. Most of the fish being caught on a jig are coming on ledges and bluff ends; pitch an Eakins jig in brown with a green pumpkin Eakins’ craw to the bank and allow it to fall from ledge to ledge out to 20’ deep before bringing it back to the boat. Most of your bites will come as the bait falls.

Above the bridges: Just like on the main lake the bite up the rivers has been on either a jerkbait or a jig. Look for isolated wood cover when fishing a jerkbait and be sure to pause the bait for 10 seconds or more next to cover before moving it. With the amount of color up the rivers it is important to use a brighter color jerkbait as well; clown, chartreuse shad and bleeding Tennessee shad have all been productive colors. The Jig bite has been best on ledge banks with log jams and other wood cover, on sunny days don’t be surprised if the fish are right on the bank next to the end of the log but on cloudy days they will back of as deep as 20’ deep.

It appears the Walleye are starting to move into the rivers and major creeks to spawn; most are holding on points and channel swings and are being caught on jerkbaits by bass anglers.

Crappie have been really good; 2� grubs, squirts and live minnows are all producing over marked brush piles 10’ – 20’ deep.

Dam area to Lead Hill: There is a lot of water moving through Bull Shoals right now; it is about four feet high with water running in from Table Rock and generators running at the Bull Shoals Dam. Because of the current the shad are strung out or holding tight the bottom turning the deep bite off and creating a relatively good shallow bite. In the dam area look for fish to be on a couple of patterns; toward the backs of the major creek arms look for isolated trees or boat docks on relatively flat mixed rock banks and throw Smithwick Rouges and Lucky Craft Pointers in chrome / blue, American Shad and Chartreuse Shad, cast beyond the cover and work the bait back to the cover and allow it to pause for a few seconds before moving it again. A good back up pattern is to fish these same banks and points with a Jewel 5/16oz or 7/16oz Pro Spider Jig in PB&J or green pumpkin / green flashed matched up with a Chomper green pumpkin jig trailer. Cast the bait to the bank and work it slowly back to around 30’ deep hopping it occasionally, pay close attention to any wood cover as it will almost always result in a strike.

Lead Hill to Power site: The Smithwick Rouge and Lucky Craft pattern that is so effective on the lower end of the lake is working well above Lead Hill as well. In addition to the jerkbait pattern a Storm Wiggle Wart fished parallel to steep chunk rock banks in 5’ – 12’ of water has been producing several fish on windy and over cast days. Make sure you run the Wiggle Wart into every piece of cover along the bank to draw reaction strikes from the fish that are holding tight to it. An Eakins’ jig in PB&J or brown / purple flash with a green pumpkin Eakins craw has also been very effective on ledge banks through out the upper end of Bull Shoals. Pitch the bait to the bank and allow it to free fall from one ledge to another, most of the strikes will come as the bait is falling. From K- Dock up to Forsyth the walleye have started to show up; jerkbaits, crankbaits and single tailed grubs have all been very effective presentations.

Just like all the lakes in the area Pomme is up and has current running through it, this has positioned most of the fish on both main lake and secondary points trough out the lake. On windy days a Smithwick Rouge or Lucky Craft pointer is hard to beat especially around isolated pieces of wood cover, on sunny days throw reflective colors like American Shad, Clown or Chrome / black and on overcast days throw more matte colors like Chartreuse Shad or Bleeding Tennessee Shad to be effective. On Clam days look for these same fish to be susceptible to an Eakins jig or a tube fished slowly on the bottom and tight to any wood cover on these points.

Best fly patterns for the week: The amount of water run over the past couple of weeks has been amazing; the Corps of Engineers has had at least one generator running continually and many times they have had all four on line. Because of this the best fly patterns by far have been shad and minnow imitators like Clouser minnows or perfect minnows in size #12 and #14, these flies imitate the shad that are being drawn through the turbines at the Table Rock Dam. Not allot of big fish being caught on flies right now but the numbers are hard to beat.

Best spinning tackle: All of the water has made for some incredible fishing over the past couple of weeks since the storm. Just about any minnow imitator will work right now; Rooster Tails, Mepps and Panther Martin spinners, Super Dupers, Little Cleos and Buoyant Spoons, small jigs in white, white / chartreuse and white / red and even a few big fish being caught on Rapalas and Smithwick Rouges. The bite has been incredible and should remain so as long as there is water running.

Kimberling City Area: The water temperatures have dropped over the past few days and it seems to have effected the location of both the fish and the bait. While the deep bite is still the most consistent pattern several fish have been caught on single tailed grubs and Smithwick Rogues and Lucky Craft Pointers over the past week. For the deep bite the usual white War Eagle Spoons, Chompers Drop Shot Worms and single tailed grubs have been effective in the guts of creeks and tree tops off secondary points, most fish are holding between 50’ – 65’ deep. On windy days a jerkbait or single tailed grub are your best option; fish either around isolated standing timber about mid way back in creek arms.

James River: The James was hot this past week several reports of good fish being caught on ledge rock banks and bluff ends with PB&J or Brown Eakins’ Jigs and Craw combos. Pitch the bait to the bank and work it down the ledges back to the boat, most of the bites are coming as the bait falls from one ledge to another so pay close attention to your bait as it falls. Smithwick Rogues and Lucky Craft Pointers have also been very effective around isolated trees and brush piles on windy mixed rock banks. Chrome / blue and chrome / black on sunny days and chartreuse shad on cloudy ones, still no need to pause the bait for a long time most of the bites will come once the bait settles for about four or five seconds.

White River: The deep bite still dominates the White River from Baxter to Shell Knob; War Eagle Spoons, Chompers Drop Shot Worms and Smoke colored tubes have all been effective in the tree tops in the major creek arms. Look for birds to show you where the bait is and in turn where the fish are. You will still need to “work� these fish to get them to bite but there have been some really big Kentuckies caught in this area recently so they are worth the effort. An Eakins’ jig and craw combo is your best bet up the Kings River. Channel swings, ledge banks and bluff ends are all holding fish from the bank out to 25’ deep. Slowly work the jig from one ledge down to the other paying close attention to your line as the jig falls.

Dam / Branson Area: The fish in the dam area are very shad related, if you find the bait you will find the fish. Let the birds show you where the bait is and in turn you will find the fish. Once you locate the fish your best bet is still a War Eagle Spoon, Chompers Drop Shot Worm or Smoke Tube dropped in front of the fish, much like the rest of the lake you will need to “work� these fish to get them to bite. Up Long Creek several fish are being caught on Smithwick Rogues and Lucky Craft Pointers around the isolated laydowns and standing timber on chunk rock or mixed rock banks in the bigger creeks and pockets.

Main Lake: The two best patterns continue to be a jerkbait and a jig on the main lake. Look for the fish to be from midway back to the very backs of the creeks relating to either schools of shad or ledge rock. Best jerkbait colors have been American shad, chrome / blue and clown on sunny days while chartreuse shad and bleeding Tennessee shad are top producers when it is overcast. The jig bite is pretty simple, look for ledge rock banks about half way back in a creek arm and work the areas where the channel makes contact with the bank. Most of the bites will come as the jig falls from one ledge to another; brown and Missouri craw Eakins jig with green pumpkin Eakins’ craw trailers have been best.

Above the bridges: The bite up the river is similar to the main lake with the only difference being more fish seem to be on the main river in pockets and on channel banks rather than in the creek arms. Look for schools of shad to key the areas where the fish are holding, anytime there are schools of shad in and around isolated pieces of wood there will be fish holding on that cover. Just like on the main lake jerkbaits and Eakins’ jigs have been the top baits.

Walleye continue to be a little bit more elusive; trolling is still your best bet try crawler harnesses on bottom bouncers in 15’ – 25’ deep on main lake points and on the face of the dam.

Crappie have been really good; 2� grubs, squirts and live minnows are all producing over marked brush piles 10’ – 20’ deep.

Dam area to Lead Hill: The cooler temperatures plus all the additional water has kicked things in gear. The deep bite continues to be strong; white War Eagle Spoons, Chompers Drop Shot worms in sand or salt / pepper and single tailed grubs fished vertically have all been effective baits on channel swing and bluff ends banks around schools of bait. Let the birds show you where the bait is and then use your electronics to find the fish around the schools of bait. A few good fish have been showing up on Jewel Spider and Football jigs, PB&J or brown / purple flash with a green pumpkin Chompers Jig trailer fished on mixed rock and ledge rock banks have been catching Smallmouth and a few Largemouth toward the backs of creeks.

Lead Hill to Power site: Three good patterns are shaping up above Lead Hill; on windy days throw a brown craw or phantom green craw Wiggle Wart on mixed rock and chunk rock banks. Parallel the bank 6’ – 10’ deep running the crankbait into any cover you may run across. Throwing a jerkbait around isolated trees and rock cover has been producing some good fish over the past week or so, Lucky Craft pointers in American Shad, Nishiki and Chartreuse Shad have all been productive throw the bait past the cover and work it back around the cover allowing it to suspend next to the cover for 5 – 10 seconds. Finally, throwing an Eakins’ jig on ledge rock banks on the main river and in the bigger creeks has been very productive. Brown and PB&J have been your best colors both matched up with a green pumpkin Eakins’ craw, pitch the bait to the bank and work it back to the boat allowing it to fall from ledge to ledge.

Pomme is much like the other lakes in the area two baits continue to dominate; Smithwick Rogues in chrome / blue, chrome / black and bleeding Tennessee shad or Lucky Craft Pointers in chartreuse shad, American shad and Nishiki have all been very productive around isolated trees and brush piles in creek arms and up the river. Cast beyond the cover and work the bait back to it allowing it to suspend next to the cover for 5 – 10 seconds. An Eakins jig in Missouri craw with a green pumpkin Eakins’ craw trailer fished on ledges through out the lake. Pitch the bait to the bank and work it back to the boat allowing it to fall from one ledge to another. Pay close attention to you line as the bait is falling, most of the bites will come as the bait falls.

Best fly patterns for the week: The bite has been pretty good over the past week and the colder weather has scared away a lot of anglers leaving the lake to hard core fly fisherman only. Scuds, bit scuds, G-bugs and sow bugs have all been in tan, grey, ginger and black in sizes from #18 - #22. The Corps. have been running a lot of water so minnow and shad patterns have been effective this week as well, try to match the threadfin shad that are coming through the turbines from Table Rock.

Best spinning tackle: Allot of water run this past week and with all the rain this should continue. The usual baits that work well when the water is running; Rooster Tails, Mepps, and Panther Martin spinners, Buoyant and Little Cleo Spoons and Super Dupers have all been effective. Small white and white and silver jigs in 1/16 oz. and 1/8 oz. size have been very effective with the number of shad coming through the turbines. These small baits will produce well whenever the water is running over the next few weeks.