Focused Fishing Web Log

Kimberling City Area: Ah…. The weather is cooling off and the bite is much improved. A couple of distinct patterns have emerged in the mid-lake area; there is still a pretty decent deep bite with both Chompers Drop Shot worms and Bink’s and War Eagle spoons. Look for the fish to be in a couple of locations; on deep main lake channel swings with flooded timber or deep brush piles on flats and points. Spoons are more effective when the fish are actively chasing shad and the drop shot works best when the fish are holding tight to cover. The other pattern has been with Jewel Football and Spider jigs on flats and points that fall into deep water look for isolate cover on these spots to be holding most of the fish. Work either Jewel Jig slowly across the bottom and into the cover to draw strikes.

James River: The cooler weather and dropping water temperatures has turned the deep crankbait bite back on up the river. DD-22’s, DT-16’s and Bandit 300’s are all producing fish in blue / chartreuse and lavender shad when fished on ledges and roll offs. Jewel football jigs and Carolina rigged lizards have also been working on deep points with isolated brush and rock piles. PB&J and brown /purple flash have been top colors in jigs either one matched with a green pumpkin Hyperflex grub. A Carolina rigged green pumpkin or watermelon / red Zoom 6� lizard has also been effective in depths from 12’ – 25’.

White River: The White River remains the most productive area of the lake; fish can be caught on a variety of baits and presentations right now. From the confluence with the James to above Big M. Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jigs in green pumpkin / green flash and PB&J fished on pea gravel and mixed rock points from 15’ – 25’ deep have been the best pattern. A close second has been working deep main lake channel swing banks with a combination of Bink’s Spoons and Chompers Drop Shot Worms look for the fish to be 30’ – 50’ deep over as much as 100 feet of water. Lastly, deep crankbaits have been producing some very good fish on ledges and roll offs near deep water from Shell Knob on up.

Dam / Branson Area: The dam area has been tougher than the rest of the lake this past week, still catching several fish but it has been more work to get the job done on the lower end. Spoons and drop shot rigs have been the best bite by far, look for fish to be either in deep trees and brush piles or on main lake channel swings. Fish that are actively fee on shad should be worked with Bink’s or War Eagle spoons while fish holding tight to cover need to be fished with Chomper Drop Shot Worms. A few fish have been showing up on Jewel Football and Pro Spider jigs in green pumpkin / green flash or PB&J with green pumpkin Hyperflex grubs but this bite is not as far along on the lower end as it is up the rivers.

Dam area to Lead Hill: The deep bite will still produce fish on bluff ends and channel swing banks; Bink’s and War Eagle Spoons are working well when you locate fish actively feeding on shad and use a Chompers Drop Shot Worm around deep brush and rock piles with fish holding tight to the cover. Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jigs have been very effective on pea gravel and mixed rock points from 20’ - 30’ deep. Work either jig along the bottom paying close attention to any cover you run your bait into. A few better fish have been coming off of boat docks on the lower end, pay close attention to the shade line as most of the fish are holding close to it.

Lead Hill to Power site: A couple of strong patterns have emerged above Lead Hill this past week; a lot of fish have been moving up shallow on pea gravel and mixed rock points. These fish are being caught on Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jigs in brown / purple flash or Missouri craw matched with a green pumpkin Hyperflex grub. Work the bait along the bottom from 10’ – 30’ deep paying close attention to any isolated cover the bait runs into. Deep crankbaits have been the other pattern that emerged this past week; look for gravel roll offs and ledges to be holding most of the fish, parallel these areas in 12’ – 15’ deep and pay close attention when the bait runs into cover.

Link to the Generation Schedule: http://www.swpa.gov/generation.htm

Best fly patterns: Not allot of generation over the past week so smaller flies have been more productive than larger ones; numbers of fish are being caught with the occasional 20�+ fish being caught. Scuds, soft shell scuds and G-Bugs in sizes #16 - #20 have been the ticket with softer colors like ginger, light grey and tan being the most effective.

Best spinning tackle: When the water is running the bite has been strong on Zig Jigs, Bouyant Spoons and Rooster Tails. If the water is shut off switch to a drift rig and fish either red worms or mixed colors of power bait nuggets.

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