Focused Fishing Web Log

Kimberling City Area: Table Rock continues to be impressive this winter. The deep bite is really starting to turn on throughout the lake; Chompers 4” single tail grubs in smoke / pepper and salt and pepper has been the best deep bait. Look for schools of bait in the 40 – 60 foot range and fish the grub on a 3/8oz. darter or ball jig head. Back up baits for the deep bite include; Chompers’ drop shot worms, Bink’s spoons and Rapala Ice Jigs are all been effective when you find the right conditions. While not as strong as it was a couple of weeks ago the shallow bite continues to offer exciting action. Jewel 5/8 and ¾ oz. football jigs in green pumpkin candy flash and PB&J with green pumpkin Hyperflex grubs are still catching smallmouth 10’ – 20’ deep on pea gravel and mixed rock points and channel swings. The bite around the bigger community docks has also been good on Eakins Jig and Craw combos. Make pitches to the center walk way of the dock and feed line until the bait hits bottom, work the bait back to the boat with small hops.

James River: The bite up the river has changed with all of the rain water flushing in this week. The best bite has been toward the back of major creek arms, look for fish to be holding on channel swings throughout the back third of the creek. PB&J and Missouri craw Eakins Jig and Craw combos have been the best presentation; position the boat across the creek channel from the swing and work the bait from the bank and through the channel. Many times the fish will “hunker down” in the creek channel and if you’re sitting in the channel you will not get bit. On windy days there are still several fish being caught on wiggle warts, these fish are less than 10’ deep so position your boat around eight feet deep and parallel wind blown pea gravel and mixed rock / gravel banks and points to be successful

White River: The White River is still on of your best choices to fish. The deep bite has turned on over the past week with shad grouping up in the mouths creeks in the 40 – 60 foot deep range; Chompers Drop Shot Worms, Bink’s Spoons and Chompers 4” Single Tail Grubs have all been effective, locate the bait and schools of Kentuckies won’t be far away. Windy days will produce fish on wind pea gravel and mixed rock / gravel points with wiggle warts and even a few fish on jerkbaits. The Kings River has some impressive fishing as well, most of the fish have been shallow around wood and rock cover, an Eakins Flip’n Finesse Jig and Craw combo in black / blue flash or Missouri Craw has been the best bait, make multiple pitches to each piece of cover concentrating on shady spots.

Dam / Branson Area: The lower end of the lake has been fantastic this past week, shallow or deep several fish are being caught in the dam area. The deep bite has been strong in the mouths and guts of creeks with schools of shad being utilized by large schools of Kentuckies in the 40’ – 60’ depth range. Chompers 4” Single Tail Grubs and Ultra Tubes in smoke / pepper and salt and pepper have been the most effective baits, fish either on a 3/8oz. head in and around the schools of bait. In and around the larger community docks several smallmouth and largemouth have been caught this past week on Eakins jig and Craw combos in PB&J and green pumpkin / candy flash. Just like in the mid-lake area you will need to make a pitch to the center walkway of the dock, feed line until the bait reaches the bottom and work the bait back to the boat. The fish on docks can be anywhere from the gang plank to 35’ deep so work each dock thoroughly.

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Dam area to Lead Hill: The deep bite has turned on over the past week on the lower end of Bull Shoals. Bink’s Spoons, Chompers Drop Shot Worms, 4” Single Tail Grubs and Ultra Tubes have all been effective. Look for schools of bait in the mouths of creeks and creek arms from 40 – 70 feet deep and schools of Kentuckies will be close by. The shallow bite is still strong as well, on windy days fish wind blown gravel and mixed gravel and rock points with either a Wiggle Wart or jerkbait from the bank to 10’ deep. These banks will produce a mixed bag of smallmouth, largemouth and the occasional walleye. On calm days look for the closest channel swing to a point that recently had wind blowing on it. Work Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jig and Hyperflex Grub combos or Chompers Ultra Tubes with short hops from the bank to 25’ deep. Natural colors like PB&J, green pumpkin and green pumpkin / candy flash have been the most effective.

Lead Hill to Power site: the deep bite is not as productive on the upper end as it has been on the lower end. The best concentrations of fish are in the back third of major creek arms on channel swing banks. Boat positioning is critical to your success when targeting these fish; keep your boat on the opposite side of the channel from the bank. Make long pitches or cast to the channel bank and work Eakins Jig and Craw combos and Chompers Ultra Tubes from the bank through the channel. Once in the channel make short hops and pauses with the bait to entice fish holding in the channel to strike. On windy days the same patterns that are working on the lower end are working in the upper end; Wiggle Warts and jerkbaits fished on windblown points will produce a mixed bag of bass and walleye.

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

Best fly patterns: Egg patterns continue to be best in coral, pink and orange. After the storms on Monday generation have been pretty heavy and the fishing has suffered, call before you go.

Best spinning tackle: All of the generation since the storms on Monday has turned the fish on in the dock and Branson area; Gulp eggs and nuggets have been producing well in pink, orange and yellow.

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Kimberling City Area: The bite continues to be excellent on Table Rock. On windy days the shallow bite is hard to beat; Chompers 4” single tail grub in green pumpkin or watermelon and Wiggle Warts in brown craw fished from the bank to 10’ deep on wind blown pea gravel has been the top pattern. The deep bite has improved over the past week or two; Chompers’ drop shot worms, Bink’s spoons and Chompers 4” grubs have all been effective when you find the right conditions. Look for schools of bait to be holding close to the bottom in the mouths of creeks and secondary creeks, where you find the bait you will find the fish close by. Smallmouth are still being caught on Jewel 5/8 and ¾ oz. football jigs in green pumpkin candy flash and PB&J with green pumpkin Hyperflex grubs from 10’ – 20’ deep on pea gravel and mixed rock points

James River: The James continues to produce both numbers of fish as well as quality; on windy days Chompers McCutchen Spinnerbaits and Wiggle Warts crankbaits have been very effective on pea gravel flats and points. Jewel Pro Spider or Football Jigs in brown / purple flash or Missouri craw with a green pumpkin Hyperflex Grub are working well in these same areas on calm days, back out and fish the 10’ – 18’ range to be effective. The dock bite turned on this past week as well, Eakins Jig and Craw combos have been working on large community docks in the Aunts Creek area, key on docks on pea gravel secondary points and make pitches to the center walkway to be effective.

White River: The White River has been awesome this past week, there is a great shallow bite on windy days, the deep bite is coming on strong and there are still several fish being caught flippin up the Kings River. Chompers Drop Shot Worms, Bink’s Spoons and Chompers 4” Single Tail Grubs are all in the mouths of creeks and off of secondary points, most of the bait and fish seem to be in the 40’ – 60’ range. On windy days move to shallow pea gravel flats and points and use a combination of brown craw Wiggle Warts green pumpkin Chompers Single Tail Grubs from the bank to around 10’ deep. Up the Kings river fish are being caught shallow on a couple of baits; on windy days a Chompers McCutchen Spinnerbait or Wiggle Wart is tough to beat where the wind is “crushing” pea gravel and mixed gravel and rock banks and on clam days a Texas Craw or Missouri Craw Eakins Jig and Craw combo fished in laydowns and heavy cover is your best bet.

Dam / Branson Area: Wind and bait are critical to success in the lower end of the lake. The deep bite has been very good, finding bait is the key to success. Look for schools of shad to be 40’ – 60’ deep in the mouths of creeks, the fish are usually just below or right in the schools of bait this time of year. Bink’s Spoons, Chompers Drop Shot Worms, Chompers Salt & Pepper Ultra Tubes and 4” Grubs are all very effective baits for these fish. The dock bite in the dam area has been very good over the past week or two as well; look for large community and condo dock on pea gravel points to be holding most of the fish. Make long pitches to the center walkway of the dock with an Eakins Jig on PB&J or Green Pumpkin Candy Flash and a green pumpkin Eakins Craw, feed the jig line until it hits the bottom and work it slowly back to the boat with short hops. Pay attention to the rate of fall as you are feeding line, many times the fish are right under the walkway and will hit the bait as it falls.

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Dam area to Lead Hill: The best bite has been on a jig or tube over the past week. Channel swing banks throughout the larger creek arms have been holding most of the fish. A Jewel Pro Spider or Football jig worked slowly along the bottom from 10’ – 15’ feet have been the most effective presentation. PB&J, Peanut Butter Smoke and Green Pumpkin Candy Flash all matched with a green pumpkin Hyperflex Grub are the best colors right now. Toward the back of the major creek arms there are a few fish holding on bluff and channel swing walls, pitch a PB&J Eakins Jig and Craw combo to the wall and work it back to the boat slowly to draw strikes, make sure to hop the bait a couple of times in the creek channel before reeling it in as there are a lot of fish holding in the channel. On windy days several walleye are starting to show up on secondary points, jerkbaits have been the best bait.

Lead Hill to Power site: Above Lead Hill the best bite has been on a brown or green craw Wiggle Wart. Wind blown pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points have been the most productive areas from 5’ – 10’ deep. On calm days the fish move to the closest deep water along the same bank, look for a channel swing or cut close to the point to hold most of the fish and move out the 15’ – 20’ deep with a Jewel Football or Pro Spider Jig and Hyperflex Grub combo. Having bait close by is a key to locating the fish so pay attention to any surface activity or bait you see on you electronics. The last channel swing in the bigger creek arms has been holding fish as well an Eakins Jig and Craw combo fished from the bank to the channel is effective for these fish.

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

Best fly patterns: Egg patterns have started to turn on over the past week; several fish being caught on red, coral and orange colors have been the best producing in #16 & #18 sizes. Several big rainbows being caught right now, very little generation and some really good fishing.

Best spinning tackle: Little generation has not seemed to hurt the spinning rod fishing around the docks; most of the fish are coming on some sort of an egg right now either gulp power eggs or nuggets in reds and pinks.

Don’t Miss Tournament Fishing Radio on ESPN 1400 AM Springfield
Mondays 5:30pm and Saturdays 5:00 am or on-line at www.espn1400.com
www.focusedfishing.com