Well, if the lake that it is a feeder to fluctuates wildly (like Truman does) then there's your answer.
I fish the Lake O tributaries alot, and things have certainly changed since Ameren took over. Back when UE managed the lake level all of the feeder creeks fished differently (better) with the exception of the Niangua and Little Niangua.....which both have "dams" that help sustain a decent average gradient through the year, and prevent mass migration.
Alot of guys wanna blame OTTERS.....but it isn't just otters..... which I very seldom see BTW 🙄 Birds of prey probably get more bass than any otters do, especially when the streams are at low levels.
The fact that you're catching channel cat tells ME that you're a good bit less than 3 miles from the lake. Am I right?