*We have fishing reports for 10 different lakes listed in Alphabetical order, scroll down the page to see them all*
report made 07/30/2010
Bull Shoals Lake:
(East): 88 degrees, high, dingy; black bass fair on crankbaits; catfish fair on trotlines; all other species slow. (West): normal, clear; dam area: temperature 77-80; walleye fair on nightcrawlers; black bass fair on jigs, soft plastics and nightcrawlers; Beaver Creek: temperature 86-89; black bass fair on soft plastics, jigs and nightcrawlers; bluegill fair on crickets and worms; catfish fair on nightcrawlers.
Report provided by Bull Shoals Boat Dock:
Hey!! Fishing continues to be good. The main difference is the times that people are fishing. When the weather gets hot then the fishing times turn into first couple hours of daylight and last couple hours of day light. We are getting reports of bass being caught on surface baits at first hour of sun light and last hour of sun light. After that, its mostly plastic baits that simulate a crawfish or minnow. Also, night crawlers, minnows and crawfish will work. The bass seem to be in the 18 to 25 foot range most of the time during the day. Jig-n-frog and spoons will also work. White Bass continue to be hot during the day on the surface. This could happen anytime during the day. You will be sitting or traveling all they will school on the surface chasing shad. So keep a rod with a spoon tied on in case you see them schooling. The Walleye bite has been great still. They seem to be in the 27 to 35 foot range. Bottom bouncing with night crawlers, split shoting night crawlers, or spoons are working. There has been several over 8 lbs brought in this last 10 days
BASS - The old tube jig - gitzits has turned on now with the water temp busting 60 degrees. Smallmouth bass are biting this pattern.
carolina rigged lizard- try this pattern working it real slow, stopping it, crawling it, jerking it ect. Vary your retrieve until you figure out how the fish want it. It can change from day to day and spot to spot.
any type of crankbaits that simulates a bluegill type fish or crawfish. Work these baits in 5 to 20 feet of water .
Black jig-n-frog - this is an old time favorite in cold water. The trick is to swim it very slow in 5 to 20 feet of water or deeper.
Jig n frog , n salt craw, n 4 inch worm - what ever your preference. This is catching Smallmouth bass in 15 to 25 feet of water on the gravel and chunk rock banks where crawfish hang out.
Plastics such as grubs, hula grubs, tube jigs - work these slow along the bottom simulating a crawling crawfish. I would also try different depths until you find where the fish are. Anywhere from 15 to 55 feet.
Top water baits are producing good stringers of fish. Spooks, flukes, swim baits are just a few.
spinner baits worked fast just under the water is producing good stringers of fish.
Walleye if you are going to try it I would do the following patterns below.
spilt shot a night crawler - Try doing this in 25 to 35feet of water during daylight hours. Cast the bait towards the bank and retrieve slow. You can also troll very slow while zig-zaging back and forth.
Bottom bouncing in 25 to 35 feet of water with a night crawler and harness
Flat trolling with minnow looking baits such as rattle traps, shad raps, deep diving rogues-rebels-xraps. Try to get your bait in 25 to 35 feet of water.
retrieving a spoon very slow while your boat is in 25 to 35 feet of water.
White bass They are back in the creeks moving in and out depending on the water temp. Small spoons, small jigs, jigs with spinners or anything simulating a shad will work.
Report provided by Davy Wotton:
Another great month of fishing the White and Norfork rivers.
As predicted the sulphur hatch this yeas was a good one and given we also had at the time both zero and lower generation flows we experienced some fantastic dry fly fishing. Many Brown in the 20 ins class were caught. Pretty much the sulphur hatches are done with for this year, hopefully the millions of adults have mated, the females ovipositied and we will see in the future the benefits of the next seasons emergences. l would add further here that much of this has to do with high water flows, no question of doubt that we see way more productive emergences of both caddis and mayfly when we do see long periods of high water, all be it l realize it restricts very much wade fishing options, l guess you cannot have it both ways.
Most recently we have seen some very high generations for the White, more or less at maximum levels, 24,000 cfs plus, also we have seen shut down and zero generations. Given we have recently had some heavy rain fall and the lake levels have risen it would be difficult to predict what we will likely see this coming month. Odds are we will see both high generation and at times zero. Either way there should be options both for wade and drift fishing depending on the location you choose to fish on the rivers. If you do choose to wade fish then make sure you know if there will be a rise of water coming your way as often at this time of the year they may well release big water in a hurry, so do not get caught out.
Read the full report
Hello Fly Fishers!
You should have a general selection that would include, hoppers with yellow and green bodies, ants, red and black. We can also include dry caddis, hares ear, Black gnat. I am not going to suggest here that the fish will be ultra fussy as generally they are not. If they see your dry and it looks good odds are they will rise and take it. Likely zones to fish are shoal and riffle water, slower zones and back eddy water, what l would call comfort or resting lies. Often as not some very large Browns can be found in these locations. Its simply a bunch of fun to catch fish on dries.
If drift fishing then work into shorelines in and around overhanging tree limbs and grass beds, these are again the locations to find that trophy fish. Other options are to fish dry dropper rigs, which may include a dry nymph or a dry soft hackle, which will work equally as well as a nymph at times.
Streamer fishing may also be a good option during days when we see lower levels of overhead light. Given the current heavy fog that descends early evening and into the dark hours not much in the way for night time activity, in fact it's not a good idea to be out on the river at such times be you wade or drift fishing, You may not notice rising water and in the case of wade fishing and have no idea where you are if out in a boat.
I know well enough that one, a GPS may work ok out on the lake, a river when you have no visual points is a very different matter.
This months feature picture is Torstein who with his wife made a visit to us from Norway. Torstein fly fishes in Norway a country with unreal water resources for trout, grayling, char, and Salmon. They experienced with me one of those golden days at Bull Shoals dam fishing very high water. Torstein's prize trophy Brown being to date the largest trout he has caught. His comments to me where simply he could not imagine how good trout fishing could be compared to his average days fishing his homeland waters, and that is very true, few rivers can match what we have here in Arkansas.
Stay safe and tight lines.
Davy.
Clearwater Lake:
Water is 91 degrees, normal, clear; all species slow.
Lake of the Ozarks:
(Bagnell Tailwater): 85 degrees, high, dingy; black bass slow on worms and dark colored soft plastic worms; white bass slow on light colored soft plastics and crappie jigs; crappie slow on minows and crappie jigs; catfish fair on cut shad, chicken livers and stinkbaits. (Glaize) 88 degrees, dingy; black bass fair using crankbaits and dark colored plastic worms; white bass slow on light colored soft plastics; crappie slow on minnows and crappie jigs; catfish fair on worms, stinkbaits, cut shad and hotdog. (Gravois): 88 degrees, dingy; catfish good; all other species slow. (Niangua) 88 degrees, dingy; black bass fair on jigs, go a little deeper than you think and get to the brush; crappie fair on minnows; catfish fair with cut bait on jug lines at 15 feet deep. (Osage): 88 degrees, dingy; crappie fair on minnows and crappie jigs; black bass fair using dark colored soft plastics off points; white bass slow on light colored soft plastics and light colored Rooster Tails; catfish fair using stinkbaits, worms and chicken livers.
Mark Twain Lake:
Water is 86 degrees, high, dingy; crappie fair on minnows and jigs; channel catfish fair on cut bait and nightcrawlers; all other species slow.
Report Provided by South Fork Resort:
Lake level is at 628.25 and on the way down again. It looks like it is dropping about 6" per day, dependent, of course on the amount of rainfall we get each day. We should be on regular ramps by next weekend I would guess. Not this one, but next one.—– Has been a hot humid week around here, but I gotta say, the fish don’t care to much. Odie and I went out and had a great time on Monday, catching fish all day long. Well, at least until the rain chased us off the water. We caught fish on trees anywhere from 3' down to 14 feet down. Also on the bridge piers. There is no doubt you will have sort through a lot of smaller fish to get a limit of keepers, but it can be done. It looks like we had another hatch of shad as we saw a lot of shad about 1.5" long busting the surface. Minnows is definitely what they want to eat right now. Trouble is, you can hardly have enough in the boat as they will just eat them as fast as you throw them in the water. Fun stuff, and just think what the fishing will be like this fall and into next year with all those smaller fish growing.Per some of the other posts you should be able to find some white bass late in the day. Fish the islands and points. Have no report on cats this week. The trick to tackling the ramps is to get out early and time getting off to stay away from the rush periods. If you get hit with a downpour you are just plain screwed as you will end up waiting. Be courteous, even though that is a challenge when you are stuck on the water while someone dallies around. It only makes matters worse to blow up, and your blood pressure won’t like it either. Sometimes it is fun to just sit back and enjoy the show.
Lake Pomme de terre:
Lake is 88 degrees, normal, clear; black bass good on plastics before 10:00 a.m. around deep structure; catfish good on live baits; crappie fair in early morning around deep structure; all other species slow.
Stockton Lake:
Water is 87 degrees, normal, clear; black bass fair in early morning on topwater lures with large crankbaits or plastic worms; crappie fair on jigs in 20' to 25' of water; bluegill fair on crickets and nightcrawlers; catfish fair on shad sides and nightcrawlers.
Report Provided by Thompson Fishing Guide Service:
Crappie and walleye: the reason I put crappie and walleye together is because the same location and the same presentation for the winter pattern applies to both, for the most part. Walleye and crappie are DEEP, in the 50 foot level...this is exactly where they are at this time very year. If you have read my past reports, reference winter patterns for crappie and walleye, you will remember that a number of things must be accomplished in order to be successful: 1) locate fish, obviously. Gizzard shad seek warmer water in the winter and they find it at these depths because of large springs that warm the water in the general area. Where the bait goes, game fish go, be it Wahoo. Bonita, Marlin, Jaws, or crappie and walleye. 2) Presentation: because of the depth, plus the water temperature, plus the fish being very lethargic, sensitivity is the key. When you are fishing 50 feet down, you must remain directly over the fish. If there is a bow in your line, as a result of the fish biting so lightly, bites will go undetected. If you have a windy day, you need to locate the fish in areas that are out of the wind. 3) Plan of attack: I use jigs with significant weight to keep my line tight depending on wind conditions. Half ounce is not too big. You'll have to experiment. Before I go any further, I might add some of the best white bass fishing you'll ever experience will be right now using the same technique as you do crappie and walleye. For more details see previous reports. If you look back over previous reports, you should have enough information that you should be able to compile a notebook that deals with all patterns for all species on Stockton Lake. I guide exclusively on Stockton Lake, not on Lake of the Ozarks, not Bull Shoals, not Truman, or the Gulf of Mexico. You can't spread yourself too thin, you know, because there is too much water to cover to be efficient on more than one lake.
Another technique I use this time of the year for walleye, crappie and white bass is to tie a 1 or 2 ounce barrel sinker on the end of my line. Above the line you can attach Aberdeen hooks with a minnow, crappie jig, or even small flies and hair jigs about 24 inches from the weight and 24 inches apart and still get to where the fish are and the sensitivity is far greater due to the fact that the weight is at the bottom of the line and when a fish touches your hook, there is nothing between you and him. This is IMPERATIVE due to the fact that when the water is cold, fish metabolism slows down and they just don't move that fast. I guarantee you that if you master what I have said in this report and previous reports over the last 8 years reference the winter pattern, you will have some of the best crappie, walleye and white bass fishing of the year.
The Missouri Department of Conservation is involved in planting new brush piles throughout Stockton Lake, which will enhance the fishing even more. I know where a lot of those new brush piles are located. Do you? Crappie and walleye: the reason I put crappie and walleye together is because the same location and the same presentation for the winter pattern applies to both, for the most part. Walleye and crappie are DEEP, in the 50 foot level...this is exactly where they are at this time very year. If you have read my past reports, reference winter patterns for crappie and walleye, you will remember that a number of things must be accomplished in order to be successful: 1) locate fish, obviously. Gizzard shad seek warmer water in the winter and they find it at these depths because of large springs that warm the water in the general area. Where the bait goes, game fish go, be it Wahoo. Bonita, Marlin, Jaws, or crappie and walleye. 2) Presentation: because of the depth, plus the water temperature, plus the fish being very lethargic, sensitivity is the key. When you are fishing 50 feet down, you must remain directly over the fish. If there is a bow in your line, as a result of the fish biting so lightly, bites will go undetected. If you have a windy day, you need to locate the fish in areas that are out of the wind. 3) Plan of attack: I use jigs with significant weight to keep my line tight depending on wind conditions. Half ounce is not too big. You'll have to experiment. Before I go any further, I might add some of the best white bass fishing you'll ever experience will be right now using the same technique as you do crappie and walleye. For more details see previous reports. If you look back over previous reports, you should have enough information that you should be able to compile a notebook that deals with all patterns for all species on Stockton Lake. I guide exclusively on Stockton Lake, not on Lake of the Ozarks, not Bull Shoals, not Truman, or the Gulf of Mexico. You can't spread yourself too thin, you know, because there is too much water to cover to be efficient on more than one lake.
Table Rock Lake:
(James River arm): Table Rock (James River arm): 82 degrees, normal, dingy; walleye fair on spinnerbaits in deep pools; all other species slow. (main lake): 80 degrees, high, dingy; black bass fair on ten inch purple worms or green colored tube baits; spotted bass fair on nightcrawlers near bridge piers.
Report Provided by Table Rock Guide Service:
Top water bite is very good early morning and late afternoon or all day on cloudy days. Cordel redfins and zara spooks and Sammy top water baits in shad colors are producing the best action. Single tail grubs, 3/16 and 1/4 ounces heads with 4 and 5 inch baits in smoke and salt and pepper on main lake points are also producing very well. Jewel 5/16 finesse jigs back in the creeks in brown and purple and peanut butter and jelly seem to be working the best with green pumpkin craw fish trailers in spawing pockets 5 to 12 feet deep. Jewel football jigs in peanut butter and jelly and brown and purple in 10 to 18 feet deep is working best for bass around main lake and secondary points in the creeks. Some fish are also being caught on plastic baits, carolina rigged centipedes and lizards on outside edge of flooded timber on gravel points in 15-18 feet of water.
Mid lakeKimberling City Area Top water bite is very good early morning and late afternoon or all day on cloudy days. Cordel redfins and zara spooks and Sammy top water baits in shad colors are producing the best action. Jewel 5/16 finesse jigs back in the creeks in brown and purple and peanut butter and jelly seem to be working the best with green pumpkin craw fish trailers in spawing pockets 5 to 12 feet deep. Jewel football jigs in peanut butter and jelly and brown and purple in 10 to 18 feet deep is working best for bass around main lake and secondary points in the creeks. Some fish are also being caught on plastic baits, carolina rigged centipedes and lizards on outside edge of flooded timber on gravel points in 15-18 feet of water. Smoke grubs and salt and pepper grubs with a 1/4 oz, jig head on main lake and secondary points are producing alot of numbers of bass.
Lower endDam Area Top water bite is very good early morning and late afternoon or all day on cloudy days. Cordel redfins and zara spooks and Sammy top water baits in shad colors are producing the best action. Jewel 5/16 finesse jigs back in the creeks in brown and purple and peanut butter and jelly seem to be working the best with green pumpkin craw fish trailers in spawing pockets 5 to 12 feet deep. Jewel football jigs in peanut butter and jelly and brown and purple in 10 to 18 feet deep is working best for bass around main lake and secondary points in the creeks. Some fish are also being caught on plastic baits, carolina rigged centipedes and lizards on outside edge of flooded timber on gravel points in 15-18 feet of water. Smoke grubs and salt and pepper grubs with a 1/4 oz, jig head on main lake and secondary points are producing alot of numbers of bass.
Upper endJames River Jewel finesse jigs in peanut butter and jelly and brown and purple in 5 to 10 feet deep is working best for bass around main lake and secondary points in the creeks. Some fish are also starting to hit plastic baits, sinko's on gravel in front of the bushes, carolina rigged centipedes and brush hogs on gravel points and spawing pockets 4 to 12 feet deep.
Crappie Crappie are in 5-15 feet deep in spawning pockets around standing timber. Crappie jigs in white or chartreuse and white and minnows are working best.
TroutI'm catching some nice rainbows and a few browns on a small rapala in the morning and also swimming a white 1/16 ounce jig. The trout in the trophy area will also take pink or green micro jigs under a float and a zebra midge has also been very good. Below the trophy are from fall creek down, the trout are biting very good on night crawlers or power baits. In the early morning you can catch them swimming a 1/16 ounce jig or little cleo spoon, in line spinners are also good in the mornings.
Lake Taneycomo:
Water is 48 degrees, high, clear; upper lake: rainbow trout good on olive, black, and white marabou jigs, florescent orange glo balls and crankbaits; lower lake: rainbow trout good on bubble gum, and florescent orange Power Baits, nightcrawlers and corn.
Report Provided by River Run Outfitters:
Fishing is Good!
Wow! It has been pretty warm here for the past couple weeks. Got a little cool off yesterday afternoon and it is overcast, with a 40% chance of rain here today. Nice for a change! Generation schedule is still being pretty well followed. Just as was the pattern last week, they ran one generator for about one hour this morning at 6:00. It is scheduled to stay off today until around 1:00 p.m. when two will come one and they will ramp it up to four generators by 2:00 and eventually off by 8:00 or 9:00 p.m.
The early morning fishing has been pretty good, especially if you are there before they turn on the one generator as you get the advantage of fishing the rise. The downside of this is that as the water starts to fall after they shut down the one, fishing slows down considerably. But hang around long enough and try different patterns and places, and fishing will start picking up again as the water stabilizes. Still would say fishing is fair to good, and the fish are good quality.
Tony and Amber, from Oklahoma spent the morning with Jim. Tony is the fly fisher and Amber wanted to go along to watch and enjoy our river. They had a good morning on the black thorax midge, size 16 and 18 gray scuds and the blood worm dropper. Tony pulled out a nice 17 inch rainbow. Gina had Brenda and Jim, from Oklahoma, out for half a day. Brenda decided to get herself a birthday present…a guided fly fishing trip. She had a wonderful birthday as they caught lots of fish on the floozieplume, ruby and rusty midges, gray scud and the blood worm dropper.
Truman Lake:
The Lake is 84 degrees, high, dingy; releasing 8450 cfs; catfish good using cut shad and cut bait on all methods; crappie fair using minnows and jigs; largemouth bass fair using plastic worms; white bass good, starting to surface all over the lake; hybrid bass good on Sassy Shad and spoons.
Report Provided by Sterett Creek Marina:
Even with the rain we have had the lake is in great shape. Water clarity is good and being a couple of feet high the COE runs a little water in the afternoons to keep the whites and hybrids going. The weather is a little warm but it hasn't bothered the fish yet. The crappie are starting to move around a little and we are starting to see a few more come in.
LAKE LEVEL: 708.5
WATER TEMP: 84 deg.
WATER CLARITY: Light stain
BASS: Last nights Hawg Fight kind of sums up the bass fishing, if you can find them they will bite. Don Miller and Marty Watson brought in the winning stringer of 6.36 lbs. Jamie Lehares and Dale Hetherington came in second with 5.95 lbs.Third and big bass went to Larry Wright with 3.38 lbs. Deep water structure was the best bite. Underwater ridges in 20' of water is a good place to look. Jigs and big worms are the best baits. There is also a bite on the main lake points with worms and deep running crank baits. Look for shad balling on the points. There has also been some schooling fish the lipless crank baits are working on these.
CRAPPIE: There are some fish moving to the brush piles in 17' to 25' of water. The fish are holding right on top of the brush. Minnows are the best bait. There are also fish on the outside tree rows on the edge of the flats. These fish are holding in water 15' to 20' down 8' to 10'. Here again minnows are the best bait. Look for the trees just coming out or just under the surface.
WHITES & HYBRIDS: We have been seeing good numbers or whites come in. These fish are real active when they are running water. There is a lot of surface activity starting now. For the whites the 1/4 oz. spoon works good. The hybrids are hitting the 1/2 to 3/4 oz. sassy shad. KK Island and G 14 have been pretty good here in the last few days. Little Tebo cut has also been a good area for whites.
CATFISH: The cat fishing has been a little slow. The best bite has been jugs on the flats. Cut shad set at about 5' with floaters has been producing a few nice blues.
Lake Wappapello:
Water is normal, black bass fair on spinnerbaits and plastic worms early and late in the day; all other species slow.
Anglers should note the 9" minimum length limit regulation for crappie.
Note: On the waters of Wappapello Lake & its tributaries, all Walleye & Sager must be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught. Anglers are encouraged to harvest bass under 11" (daily limit 6) to reduce the numbers of small bass in Wappapello lake.
