Focused Fishing Web Log

Kimberling City Area: The spawn is in full swing in the mid-lake area, several fish are locked on to beds and be caught with typical sight fishing methods; white tubes, lizards and craws will raw strikes from fish guarding nests. For those not wishing to sight fish look for post spawn fish to be holding on secondary points near spawning pockets from 3’ – 20’ deep. Split shot rigged lizards and fish doctors, Jewel spider jigs and shaky head worms are all effective in these areas. While it has taken off yet, the famed post spawn topwater bite will kicking in soon; spooks, sammys and red fins will all be effective during low light hours.

James River: The spawn is further along in the James River; several fish can still be found on beds but post spawn conditions have stared to take over from the mid river up to Cape Fair. A variety of patterns have been effective with the water being a little high and stained; there are several fish holding in the newly flooded bushes flipping Eakins jig and craw combos in to the bushes, casting weightless Chompers salty sinkers and flukes around the bushes and casting Chompers McCutchen spinnerbaits around shallow bushes on windy banks have all been productive. Early and late spooks, sammys and red fins have been producing schooling fish on secondary points.

White River: Fish are in all stages of the spawn through out the White River. In the Kings the spawn is the farthest along with several fish guarding fry in coves around standing timber and laydowns, others are still on the nests guarding eggs and still more have moved out onto points and are suspending recovering from the spawn. The fish on points can be targeted with spooks, sammys and red fins early and late and Jewel spider or football jigs as the sun comes up. Don’t ignore the cover in the water, several good fish have come off of laydowns and flooded bushes in the shallows of the Kings this past week. From Baxter to Campbell point more fish are locked on the beds and can be taken with traditional sight fishing techniques. Shaky heads and split shot rigs are producing on points near spawning coves from 5’ – 20’ deep, target any cover that is on these points. Fish can be caught in the flooded bushes as well, Eakins jigs and Ultra tubes have been working well in these areas.

Dam Area: The dam area has been the toughest end of the lake over the past week; water temperatures have been slow to rise and while there are fish on beds they have been harder to catch than in the upper portions of the lake. Split shot rigs and shaky heads have been producing around spawning areas from 3’ – 12’ deep, look for small “bumps” or pockets in spawning areas to hold more fish than other areas, also any wood or rock cover within a spawning cove deserves attention. As the water warms the fish will spawn and sight fishing will become a more predictable pattern.

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Dam area to Lead Hill: Several fish on beds through out the lower end of the lake. The usual sight baits have been effective; white and green pumpkin tubes, green pumpkin lizards and green pumpkin craws are all effective choices. The rising water has put a lot of bushes in the water; fish around the bushes with weightless flukes and salty sinkers on calm days and Chompers spinnerbaits on windy days. Early and late there is a top water bite starting to emerge, look for surface activity and throw spooks, sammys and red fins toward the schooling fish.

Lead Hill to Power site: The spawn is further along on the upper end of the lake. Fish are in all three stages of the spawn; several fish are still locked on beds and can be caught by sight fishing, pre –spawn fish are on the inside of spawning pockets and can be caught on mojo rigged lizards and french fries, and finally post spawn fish have moved out of the pockets and have begun to show up on secondary points. The rising water has moved several fish into the bushes and wood cover on the bank up the river; on calm days an Eakins Jig and Craw combo has been very effective and on windy days a Chompers spinnerbait fished tight to the cover will produce.

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Best fly patterns for the week: Scuds, sow bugs and midges in size 14 – 18 have been good this week, tans, olives and grays have all been effective.

Best spinning tackle: Drift rigs and split shot rigs have been producing with Gulp Eggs, live crawlers and powerbait. Micro jigs on floats, Zig Jigs, Little Cleos and Panther Martins have been effective when the water is running.
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Kimberling City Area: If water temperatures were a little higher the fish would be spawning by the end of the week, but with surface temps in the low to mid 50’s the fish are stuck in a pre-spawn pattern on main lake and secondary points close to spawning pockets. A variety of baits are effective in these areas; Split shot rigged fries and lizards, shaky head worms, Jewel 3/16oz. & 5/16oz spider jigs in PB&J or green pumpkin / green flash tipped with Jewel Jig trailers and scrubbing 4” single tail grus will all produce numbers and quality fish. On windy days Lucky Craft Pointers and Spro McSticks are still producing fish on these areas as well.

James River: The cooler weather has dropped water temperatures 3 – 8 degrees in the mid and upper James. The cooler water has helped the stick bait bite come back a little with numbers and quality being caught on Lucky Craft Pointers and Spro McSticks. The wiggle wart bite has been jumpstarted by the cooler water temps as well. Channel swing banks and rocky points near spawning pockets have been producing keeper bites on brown craw and phantom green wiggle warts. Eakins Jig and craw combos or Chompers Ultra Tubes have been effective in these same locations on calm days. Most of the fish have been 3’ – 8’ deep holding tight to rock transitions and any wood cover.

White River: Lower to mid White River has been the best area of the lake this past week. Several presentations have been effective; scrubbing grubs, Jewel Spider jig and Jewel Trailer combos, shaky head worms, split shot rigs, and Chompers Ultra Tubes have all been catching fish from 3’ – 12’ deep on gravel and mixed rock and gravel points close to spawning pockets. On windy days the jerkbait bite continues to hang on, Pointers, Mc Sticks and Vision 110’s have all been effective with some wind. The wiggle wart bite has started to give way to a spinnerbait bite in the Kings and upper White, look for fish to be holding tight to cover on transition banks near spawning pockets, slow roll Chompers McCutchen spinnerbaits through the cover to draw strikes.

Dam Area: Scrubbing a grub continues to be the most consistent pattern on the lower end of the lake. Smoke, salt and pepper, green pumpkin and pumpkin seed grubs have been the most effective colors thrown on ¼ oz heads. Look for main lake and secondary points near spawning areas, make long casts to the bank and work the bait slowly across the bottom allowing the bait to fall back to bottom anytime you loose contact. Back up patterns in these areas include; shaky heads, Jewel Spider jigs, Chompers Ultra Tubes and stickbaits. Look for the fish to be 8 – 15 feet deep in the morning and moving shallow as the water warms in the afternoon.

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Dam area to Lead Hill: Fish have moved up and are ready to spawn, once water temperatures rise there should be a mass move to the bank. For now large groups of fish are holding on main lake and secondary points near spawning pockets. Jewel Spider jigs in PB&J and green pumpkin / green flash with Jewel jig trailers, mojo rigged lizards and centipedes, Chompers Ultra tubes and single tail grubs are all effective on these points. Look for fish to be 7’ – 15’ deep early and move up as shallow as 3’ deep once the afternoon sun warms the water. On windy days these same locations will produce with stickbaits and wiggle warts.

Lead Hill to Power site: The bite up the river continues to be strong; wiggle warts, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits are all producing on windy main lake and secondary points near spawning areas. On calm days Jewel Eakins and Spider jigs in PB&J and brown purple with green pumpkin Eakins craws or green pumpkin Paca chunks will work in these same areas, look for larger rocks in the transitions to hold most of the fish. Further up river slow rolling a spinner bait over and though rock cover has been very effective.

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Best fly patterns for the week: Scuds, sow bugs and midges in size 14 – 18 have been good this week, tans, olives and grays have all been effective.

Best spinning tackle: Drift rigs and split shot rigs have been producing with Gulp Eggs, live crawlers and powerbait. Micro jigs on floats and Zig Jigs have been effective when the water is running.
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Kimberling City Area: Fish are on the move in the mid lake area, stickbaits and wiggle warts have been productive on windy points and transition areas, look or fish to be 3’ – 8’ deep. On calm days these same fish will eat a Jewel 5/16 oz. spider jig with a 4” Chomper jig trailer. Hold your boat 20’+ feet deep, make a long cast and drag the jig across the bottom, pay close attention to any rocks or wood you come in contact with as they will hold most of the fish. Swimming or Scrubbing a grub continues to be a good technique on windy pea gravel points, flats and pockets as does a shaky head worm on secondary points near spawning pockets.

James River: With the warm rain the spinnerbait bite should be turning on any day now, but right now the wiggle wart bite is still strong up the James River; brown craw, phantom green craw and watermelon are all good colors. Parallel the bank in 6’ – 10’ of water and try to run your crankbait into any piece off wood or other cover on the bank. On calm days a green pumpkin finesse worms on a shaky head is tough to beat on secondary points. A few big fish have shown up this past week on transition banks near spawning pockets, the best bait has been a Jewel Eakins or J-Lock jig in PB&J or Orange craw with a Jewel Jig trailer in green pumpkin.

White River: Jewel spider jigs and split shot rigs have come on strong over the past week look for the fish to be staging on chunk rock and mixed rock secondary points in the mouths of spawning coves. The fish seemed to be grouped up pretty good so if you catch one or two stay with it because the point will most likely hold several fish. As the water warms this pattern should become better with larger females moving in as well. The stickbait bite is still hanging on as well; work the bait a little faster than in the past few weeks. On windy days these fish have been very aggressive so detecting the bite is not a problem.

Dam Area: The grub bite continues to be strong in the Kimberling City area as well, on windy days 4” smoke or salt and pepper grubs are tough to beat, fish pea gravel points and flats. Much like the rest of the lake several fish are being caught on shaky heads and split shot rigs on secondary points in the mouths of spawning coves. Watermelon, watermelon / red and green pumpkin are the best colors right now. Like up the White River, the jerkbait bit continues to hang on, look for the fish to be very aggressive on windy days.
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Best fly patterns for the week: Scuds, sow bugs and midges in size 14 – 18 have been good this week, tans, olives and grays have all been effective.

Best spinning tackle: Drift rigs and split shot rigs have been producing with Gulp Eggs, live crawlers and powerbait. Micro jigs on floats and Zig Jigs have been effective when the water is running.
Don’t Miss Tournament Fishing Radio on ESPN 1400 AM Springfield
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Lake - Bull Shoals
3/31/09:
Dam area to Lead Hill: Secondary points have been the ticket over the past week, Jewel 3/16 and 5/16 PB&J spider jigs fished from 10’ – 20’ deep off the sides of the points has been the most productive pattern for both smallmouth and spotted bass. Largemouth have been shallower with most of the fish coming off of ledge rock toward the backs of creek arms and pockets where the water has a little more color. Eakins’ jigs, shaky head worms and mojo rigs have all been producing fish. Better fish are being caught on wiggle warts on rocky banks leading to spawning coves. Parallel these banks 6’ – 8’ deep running the bait into any big rocks or wood along the bank.

Lead Hill to Power site: On windy days the wiggle wart bite continues to produce several fish on chunk rock and mixed points, flats and channel banks. Look for areas with some wood cover mixed in to hold better fish. On calm days an Eakins’ jig in brown or Missouri craw with a green pumpkin Eakins’ craw is your best bet pitched around ledge rock or broken boulders near deep water. The jerkbait bite is not as strong as in past weeks but there are still several fish being caught. Work the bait on windy mixed rock points and transition areas at a pretty good clip to be effective.
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