Missouri Lakes Fishing Report

Lake - Table Rock 02/12/06:

Kimberling City Area: The colder weather has some effect on the fish; the key this week has been to slow down your presentation. The deep bite is still strong, with drop shot worms and grubs overshadowing spoons this past week. The cooler water and high pressure have made a subtle finesse approach your best bet. There are still a few fish being caught on Eakins jig and craw combos on deeper docks, slow down your retrieve and make the most of each cast.

James River: A stick bait is still your best bet up the James River but you will need to move to deeper banks and slow down. Look for bluff ends and deep chunk rock banks to be holding most of the fish, any isolated piece of cover on these banks needs to be fished thoroughly by making multiple casts and allowing the bait to rest next to the cover for 15 – 30 seconds between jerks. If there is a little wind you can speed up your retrieve to a 5 – 15 second pause.

White River: The Kings has cooled more than the rest of the lake, it’s a little dirtier plus the cold run off from the snow has cooled this arm of the lake more than the rest. With this in mind you will need to slow your retrieve even more in this area Lucky Craft pointer 100’s or Smithwick Rogues have been very effective on deeper points and swing banks with isolated piece of cover, Chartreuse Shad, American Shad, Clown and Chrome / Black have all been effective colors. An Eakins’ jig fished on these same pieces of cover, Missouri Craw with a green pumpkin Eakins craw has been the best color.

Dam Area: The most reliable pattern continues to be deep around the dam area, look for schools of bait to be suspended on bluff ends, saddles and at the ends of points. Most of the fish will be suspended between 40’ – 60’ deep but can be over as much 120’ deep. Just like in the mid – lake area a subtle approach has been much more effective over the past week, drop shot worms and grubs have been much more effective than spoons and a subtle twitch or shake has been better than a hop or jerk retrieve.