SplitG2

No live scoping today and loved it. We had over 17 1/2 lbs today with a 4.10 smallmouth. 

On Table Rock, I have several thousand hours of deep fishing experience with 2D and about 1000 hours of FFS usage out deep.
Since getting FFS I have not bothered to find one new location. I fish the same locations today that I have fished for years. So nobody dropped my off 50 yards from the summit (or honey hole).
When I arrive at my old locations, I use FFS to determine if fish are present. If fish are present I cast to them without having to fan cast to unproductive water.
FFS is educational, efficient,  and sometimes productive. 
Caught this fish this morning using FFS to know my area held stubborn fish. Then used my eyes to see a flicker of shad 80 yds away, put the trolling motor on high and then capitalized.

What Bill said.  And these…. Good luck.  

What Bill said.  And these…. Good luck.  

What Bill said.  And these…. Good luck.  

What Bill said.  And these…. Good luck.  

What Bill said.  And these…. Good luck.  

I fished this morning and got to experience a very good swimbait bite. The scenario included lots of trees with big schools of surface shad. The bass kept the shad herded up on the surface between 0-10ft. There were several groups of shad and each group had a small school of bass that would constantly feed and keep them on the surface. Normally the number of feeding bass ranged from 3 to 10 and they were hanging out in 8 to 15ft regardless of depth. 
Once I caught a few bass from a group they would start ignoring my swimbait and I would then select another group to bug. I moved the boat approx 100ft all morning. 
I caught fish on every swimbait I tried but the shad were in the 2" range and therefore the Keitech 2.8 was the most effective. 
I had approx 20 to 25 keepers and very few shorts. All the keepers were in the 2# range and I was surprised I did not connect with a big fish. My first 6 keepers were LM then for some reason the K's started to dominate. 
I used FFS this morning to help maximize my catch rate but I could have caught plenty with no electronics. 
FFS is educational, efficient, and sometimes effective. I was grateful it was effective this morning. 
WT 52-54
 

I fished this morning for a few hours and things are changing (like shad locations and the deep bite techniques).  Shad can be found on gravel runouts, in the creeks, and on the main lake. Finding fish associated with the shad is a challenge. 
The deep vertical bite can still be found but the fish are very picky and not grouped up like they were. I have found the swimbait bite to be more reliable because the fish are using the entire water column and they seem more willing to bite a horizontal presentation. 
I have not spent any time looking for gravel fish, I normally try areas with plenty of trees.
The two pictured fish were caught using a swimbait retrieve. One on the main lake and the other in a creek. Had 7 keepers this morning.  the boat in 30-50 FOW.
WT 46.5 to 48.5

It for sure was a great day to be on the water except for the start when it was colder than a witch’s heart.  Ice kept freezing on my line and rod eyes for the first hour or so but other than that it was a great day to be out.  Thanks for the trip.

Fished with Dutch today, it was cold out there to start, but warmed up nicely, little to no wind for most of the morning,
We caught 20 bass, all spots except for 2 largemouth.  We had 5 or 6 keepers, with the biggest going 2.75.  Ned rigs for the most part around rocky banks and trees with the fish being in 15-25 FOW.  The fish are very sluggish, most bites are very hard to detect, usually the rod tip gets a little heavy and it's a fish.  
Caught a couple on the 2.8 Keitech and they were both a little deeper, maybe 30-35 feet down.
Water temp was 40 at the start of the day and saw 46 right before we left.
BFL is coming February 17th, but not much pressure at all today, saw three other boats.

Mitch, I mostly use a 3/8 VMC moon eye jig with a 3" Damiki brand armor shad. 
Regarding the shark tail worm, I would recommend cutting the 5.25" version down to 4" and put that on a 5/8 oz jig head. Then use it vertical for the deep fish and fish for the guys closest to the bottom and work the bait aggressively by jigging it up several feet. These winter fish love a fast rate of fall. Then try the same setup as a swimbait. 
Regarding hover strolling, I have not tried it in the winter because of the slow rate of fall to reach the fish and the fish high in the water column are very tough to catch vs the bottom guys. I would love to hear feedback that it works.
I think the best scenario to try hover strolling is in the first 30 minutes of daylight (with no wind) and you know your around plenty of fish.
A low pressure mild wind day before a cold front is the best time to find winter fish feeding high in the water column. 
 

The deep bite has been good the past few days. Mainly using Damiki, ice jig, and slab spoon. I caught a few yesterday on topwater (in 40ft) but they were shorts so I put it down after 5 casts. 
The bass pictures are from this morning in 60-65ft.
The graph pictures are from today (60-65ft) and yesterday (40ft).
These are resident fish vs shad roamers. These resident fish will come and go from the area but it does not take much bait to hold them. These resident fish are grouped up unti 8 or 9am, then they disperse into singles and are tough to catch.
This morning I noticed a few gizzard shad break the surface where I could see there body. That is a good indication that nice fish maybe in the area.
WT 54-55

Been out a couple days this week for quick bouts.  I have also spoken to friends that have hit a lick or two. Here is what is going on in the Campbell Point area. 
Surface temps ranging from 53 to 57, main lake the warmest. Water has about 8’ to 10’ of visibility, in the Main lake with about 1/2 that in the creeks. 
There is a decent crank bait bite, but the conditions need to be good. Overcast and some wind on the steeper chunk banks. Bites are from right on the bank to 8’ to 10’. 
Jig bite has been winning some tournaments.  Mostly around docks. Really helps if there are Shad in the pockets. Jig bite has been 15’ to 20 plus feet on the shady sides and in the stalls. 
Best bite is the deep bite, and they are not all K’s. Lots of LM out there. 
Key is finding Shad on the bottom, either the large cove guts, creeks or main lake flats. 
There are Shad as deep as 80+ but the best bite is 50’ to 55’ on the bottom. I am just not getting bit good  fishing suspended Shad even with bass in, above or below them. 
If you  can see them knocking holes in the schools you will get bit.  Best baits are the usual suspects, but mostly the Dimiki rig. 
Don’t get impatient when looking for the deep fish. You may have to check a dozen places to find them.   Also it seems the deep fish are much hotter in the afternoon. I’ve tried from daylight to late in the day.   Noon to 3 has been my strongest deep bite. 
Best shallow bite has  been earlier if you can get that breeze. Going to be nice again next week so I’ll give her another spin. 

 








 

Well, I missed it. Thought a few would get 30 pounds and they did.  Missed the cut. 25.12 was 25th.  Thought it might take close to 27 the way they were catching them early. 
I have not gotten clarification on my camera boat for tomorrow. The thought was I would be with the second place guy.  
I should hear back in the next couple hours. 
There are 6 camera boats and one Drone boat. I asked if it would be possible if my guy or any they wanted a camera on was fishing up the White.  I asked if I could meet them at either Shell Knob or Baxter.  Would hate to make the 100 Mile round trip from State Park if it wasn’t necessary. 
I’ll give you a report on my day tomorrow. Going to be warm and windy. 
With so many guys over 30 pounds one of them should catch at least 15 tomorrow so I’m guessing 46/48. 


 

I will add my report as I also fished this event. Saturday I had a total of 7 bites, 4 LM keepers, one 14.5” smallmouth, and two missed opportunities. My 4 weighed 9.02 all on a bigger football jig 1/2 oz. Short pockets on the main lake in the KC to dam area. Steeper shelf rock near docks. I felt good going into day two but just could not get bit on the bigger jig. It took until the afternoon to figure out a little something and that was replicating Bill Bablers advice. Boat in 20ft, wind blown gravel banks with mixed chunk rock. Picked up a finesse jig and within 20 minutes got a good thump. A nice brown fish that jumped, pulled, and as I had him close to the boat just came unbuttoned. Consistency is something I need to work on at Table Rock. I learn more from each trip. Thank you Bill and to the rest of the people that take the time to share advise here.

Now Bill, you know we don't let our river fish sink into bad habits like biting a glide bait. Like Kelly Power told me once when he caught me drop-shotting up near Cape Fair --- don't be teaching these fish that crap!!. 🤣 😆

Quick report. Headed out Friday and Saturday. Most fish came on main lake points with wind, others around wood. Coming back down with my brother in 2 weeks and it should be good with the water temps cooling down. 

Fished this morning and the suspended bite is fairly tough with a swimbait. Finding fish out deep is not the issue, but triggering them to bite a swimbait is the challenge. The first few cast to a group of fish can be productive but each additional cast is normally a waste. 
Bait speed seems to be key, so I lift and drop the SB to trigger a bite. A steady slow retrieve will attract some shorts but the bigger fish seem to prefer the action/speed of a falling bait.
I use a 3.3 on a 5/16 and a 2.8 on  1/4oz, the 5/16 has fewer hang ups because it seems to have less roll when it hits a tree limb. So I make  more risky cast around cover with a 5/16.
I normally stay off the main lake and check out deep history spots that I can spend 30-45 minutes trying to fool a few. My boat is routinely in 45-55 FOW and the target fish are normally suspended in the 20-30ft range.
One drawback about deep fishing is the fact that some very good history spots will just stop holding groups of fish. Some spots produce each year and others will be solid for years then dry up. 
Minor ramble: The Kimberling area has got short handed the last few years on a deep post spawn surface bite. I think a good post spawn bite depends on a short window between the bass spawn wrapping up and the shad spawn starting. This year a lot of bass spawned in 59 degree water and the shad spawn started about 68 degrees. 
The pictured fish were on SB, and I did get a few on the spoon. 7 keepers and some shorts.
WT 84-85
 
 

I didn’t weigh this one.   It’s 19”s and fat!!

I work remote so I had some time early today to run my dock pattern.  I waited for the storms to pass and got out right at 6 am.   Never saw another boat for 2 hours.   which is good in a flat bottom river Jon.  Caught these two plus some dinks.    I think I have found someone’s pets😁
 
 

The morning suspended bite is still steady. I fished with 2.8, spoon, and topwater. 
Included below is a picture of a tree loaded with fish. This tree sets in 38-40 FOW when the lake level is at 915-917 (tops out about 5ft below the surface). The tree is near the mouth of a creek and is the last dominate tree in a long line of timber. This tree is not a good weekend spot unless it is your first stop. The skiers will run you off. From the graph picture you can tell my boat is shallow....mainly for safety.
The fish relating to the tree just pick a depth that suits them. The key with a 2.8 is to look for fish postured just far enough from the branches. The majority of fish always seem to be on the other side of the tree, but if you move your boat to the other side, the fish will magically appear on the other side again.
This tree location also has roamers nearby but you need a group of 4 or 5 fish to create a competitive swimbait scenario. Trying to pick off an individual swimmer is normally a waste of time. 
Once you educate them with a 2.8 you can move closer to flip a spoon and your first few drops with a spoon are the high percentage casts.
The topwater bite did not happen even with ideal cloudy conditions. 
The pictured LM was on a 2.8 and the SM was on a spoon. 
Had a few more nice LM in the rain.
WT 84ish

Regarding thermocline (or lack of) here is a picture of bass suspended at 20-25ft in 30-35 FOW. This is a creek channel swing and my boat is setting in 50ft.
These fish have trees, bait and deep water within 50-100ft. 
FFS teaches you a lot about what bass prefer (and it is not always what we consider the best option).
I caught all three species from this group  ( which included more fish than in the real time picture). Using a 2.8 with a lift/drop retrieve. When you catch one it kinda scatters the tight group and they start the education process on the impact of a 2.8.
 

Haven't been to Big M in a while, holiday crowds and weather has kept me away.  It was almost cold this morning, 59 degrees at the launch with some thick fog in places.  Water temp was 83.
Fishing was kind of weird, I caught 20 bass, 6 were keepers, and half of the bass I caught and I think 5 of the 6 keepers came on top, late in the morning when the sun was shining down and the water was calm.  Caught several in 70 FOW that were largemouth, they came up a few times chasing 3 inch shad and if you could get that top water on them, they'd be all over it.
I also have a little pocket near some gravel that for some reason has a late morning top water bite, caught 4 in there, they were spots.
Caught some fish deep on the 3.8 Keitech, a few on jigs, the only smallmouth I caught came on a jig.
Quit about 1030.  Quite a few folks out there fishing today.

 

The deep morning bite has been fairly consistent. I chose a different section in my zip code on each outing and try to catch them with the presentations I like (swimbait, spoon, topwater). This morning I stayed off the main lake and there was a fair amount of small surface bait (like tiny shad) and deeper shad schools. The bass are eating a lot of 3 to 4" shad.
The topwater opportunities do exist but are not a priority due to lack of quality results. And the surface chasing fish are super smart as compared to the suspended fish.
Regarding the swimbait. Each group of fish have their own preferences. One group will bite a 3.3 and the next group will only bite a 2.8. The underspin will work on some groups but they get educated real quick, so I normally save it for a few wrap-up cast. The underspin (with straight tail) is also good for determining if your targets are worth the effort. The dinks and (perhaps crappie and bluegill) will bite the spinner blade and not get hooked.
With FFS I see plenty of opportunities where I need to drop the swimbait to fish postured below the lazy followers. Two of the pictured LM fell for that trick.
Regarding thermocline. I will assume a thermocline is developing based on time of year and WT. But the fish are using a lot of the water column and I like to focus on those using the 20-25ft range (in the morning hrs).
Two of the pictured fish were on a 2.8 and the other two on a spoon. Had about 12 keepers this morning.
WT 85ish.