Dock-in-it

I have noticed a few patterns the loons do each morning that help me capitalize on their presence. These comments apply to the afternoon as well. Right after daylight they will make a bee-line to where they have found shad before (perhaps the previous day). They will scout the area and either feed up or leave if nothing is there. This area might even be a pre/post spawn area. After feeding, they will vacate the area and leave food on the table for another day. So if you see loons swimming out into the lake, just imagine where they have been (like a pre/post spawn area). Years ago in March I did a post on this forum pertaining to an afternoon trip. I was driving in the middle of the lake to an area and I pass by a spawning cove with 19 loons swimming out into the lake. I put the brakes on and pulled into the cove and noticed 2 loons had shad trapped from the shore to 10ft out. The lake was high and in the bushes, so casting without getting hung up was an issue, but the catching was unreal.

I wanted to fish this morning prior to the extreme winter storm and the fishing was really good. Started on the main lake in about 80 FOW with trees and plenty of shad at daylight. I was surrounded by a dozen loons and plenty of gulls and they kept the bait and fish in hyper mode. As the morning progressed the birds moved out and the groups of shad started to fizzle but the bass were still actively feeding until about 9AM. Throughout the morning several fish would suspend under the boat and you could catch a few, then that group would get educated and start ignoring any presentation. I liked finding suspended groups about 20-40ft from the boat and these fish would react to a Damiki rig fished above their head. Caught most of them on these baits (Damiki, Ice jig, 2.8 Keitech) and the 3/8 Damiki was the best producer. Had numerous LM and plenty of K's. I included a 2D graph picture showing the suspended fish after the shad balls disappear. WT 48.6

I fished this morning and the bass were plentiful and willing to bite. I started out on my 1st location at daylight and it was loaded with shad but I was not seeing many bass. I had about 20 loons approach my boat within 50ft and they all turned around and ignored the shad and went about their way. Then with each passing minute the bass started to appear at all depths and feeding on the shad. (Patience is key) I am catching at a steady pace and as usual the shad balls start to fizzle out but the bass are still feeding on shad I can not see on the graph with the exception of some surface shad. Then the loons return and they decide to go nuts which triggers the bass to capitalize on a feeding opportunity. Location #1 was deep main lake with trees and my boat was normally in 75 FOW and the fish were caught throughout the water column. Location #1 was very good until 9AM and then I headed to location #2 hoping it would produce a few more bites. To my surprise location #2 produced more than 20 keepers. This included a nice limit of SM, LM, and more than 10 keeper K's. Location #2 was a spawning cove with no trees and my boat was mainly in 30 FOW. The fish at this location had not been pressured and could be triggered in to biting real easy. They were feeding on shad near the surface. The best bait was a VMC moon-eye 3/8 jig head with a 3" Damiki Armor Shad. I caught fish on several baits but the Damiki produced about 85% of the catches. From now through March you have to keep all pre/post spawn locations on your check list. I have found multiple winter spots over the years due to bad weather conditions like extreme cold, wind, fog,,,,etc. Extreme weather will cause you to seek safety and comfort. And you would be surprised how the bass do not care what conventional wisdom has to say. WT 51.5

Bill, my FFS skills are just at the basic level. Here is the scenario I was around this morning. I would throw at the surface activity and catch mainly LM with very few K's or SM in the mix. When I first arrived I caught fish postured deep under the trolling motor and they were K's, so I just left them alone and chased the surface activity. Later in the morning I fished deep again and just caught K's. The loons would keep the surface fish and bait moving at a steady pace.

I fished this morning and the bite was steady. I scouted 2 locations that had no bait or fish, then my 3rd spot was loaded. I was around bait, fish, and birds all morning. The LM were under pods of shad at the surface and most of the K's used the entire water column. I targeted the LM and left the K's alone until about 9Am when most of the surface activity started to dwindle. Used a 2.8 SB with a 1/4 and 3/8 tungsten jig head. Some days they respond well to the 1/2 oz with a 2.8 but these fish were not buying it today....the shad were real small. WT 52-53

I fished this morning and wanted to share a deep fishing scenario I routinely encounter throughout the winter. I show up at a location just before 7AM and put the trolling motor down to look for bait and fish. Today I started seeing unlimited bait for a 200 yd stretch and only seen 2 fish. But I know from experience not to leave until I see if the morning light activates the fish in area. I am just about to run out of patience and move to my next spot. Then I see about 10 fish stacked together and put 3 keepers in the boat real quick. Now my attitude is better. In a matter of minutes the 200 yd stretch has fish everywhere. Some are at the surface and others are using the entire water column (I am in 50 FOW). I no longer see any bait schools except small pods just under the surface, but the fish are actively feeding throughout the water column (on bait I can not see). So patience is key in the first 30 minutes of good light especially when bait was present before daylight. After 9AM most of the fish disappeared, so your milk run rotation is key.

I fished this morning and the deep bite was really strong. The 1st location(creek) had lots of fish and I had it to myself for about an hour. Then an extremely good guide (Eric Olliverson) pulled up and I let him know he was welcomed to fish anywhere around me. His consistency on the winter bite is just amazing with clients that have different skills each day. My 2nd location (creek) included several loons and was loaded with fish. The action was non-stop....I left them biting. The best bait was a 1/2oz tungsten queen tackle jig head with a 2.8 Keitech. The ice jig worked as well. All the fish were suspended deep and I encountered numerous large schools. I would throw the 1/2 oz Keitech to large groups (10-15) that were normally 40-50 ft from the boat and suspended down around 40-50 ft. The overall deep was in the 60-80 ft range. The suspended fish wanted the Keitech moving upwards at a 45 degree retrieve. I tried to catch fish postured below pods of surface shad but they would follow and not commit. WT 52-53

Please delete.

I fished this morning and landed on a good group of fish that lasted all morning. I could see fish somewhere around the boat all morning. There was shad in the area but not a ton. Also lots of trees, but the fish do not hug the trees during the first couple of hours because they are constantly moving. When 9am rolls around they start hanging around the trees. The last time out I used a 7/8 spoon and 5/8 jig head with a jerk minnow bait, so I started with those baits and quickly realized they were not working. I ended up using 3 different jig sizes (1/4, 3/8 & 1/2 oz) with each having a 2.8 Keitech. My favorite was the 1/2 oz and it was very productive because of its efficient drop speed in deepwater. I kept the boat in 40-50 FOW and would pitch the 1/2 oz SB to groups of fish that were postured near the bottom, then just reel the SB straight up thru the fish and they liked the bait moving upwards. Sometimes they would react better if I speeded up my retrieve. I did not catch many deep fish using a horizontal retrieve. There was also some surface fish chasing small pods of shad and I was able to catch a few with the 1/4oz SB. Caught plenty of fish and most were K's with a few LM & SM in the mix. I alternated between 2D & FFS and each technology works great for deep winter fish that are grouped up. I attached a 2D picture and I could have taken dozens of 2D pictures showing groups of fish under the trolling motor. WT 52.5 - 53

Bill, regarding your graph picture with surface shad and the associated big K's. On Nov 14th I got oh the same scenario with magnum K's and could not believe their willingness to bite the 2.8 Keitech. So yesterday I return to the same location and the small pods of surface shad had mostly short fish and the shorts would follow my bait (leaving the real thing behind) and they would rarely commit. I think when quality fish are feeding at the surface they are more willing to commit.

Champ, speaking of paying attention to what's going around you. About 20-25 yrs ago Bill Babler had a website for his guide service and he would do a fishing report from time to time. It was probably in the April/May timeframe and the lake experienced lots of rain and was very stained....and I fished over the weekend. Bill comes out (let's say Monday) with a report that his guide trip caught 75 on a grub. So I am back at work and read this report. So I wrote him an email to ask how he caught 75 on a grub in the stained water. He wrote back and said the stain doesn't matter, you just have to pay attention to your surroundings. Then to make me feel better he said that someone in the network of brethren (guides) always figures them out. So to this day, I always pay attention to any surface activity...and whatever else is going on.

I do use livescope, but 2D is excellent option for deep fall/winter fishing. I started to take a 2D picture this morning to prove the point....here is the scoop. I normally go to spots where I keep my boat in a 1 or 2 acre boundary. I will move around and eventually almost every 'deep' fish in the area will be seen under the boat because they are also attracted to boat. The fish near the surface are chasing shad so I see those without the need for any graph. If your in an area with lots of fish you have a better chance of triggering a bite fishing vertical under the boat because fish like to be triggered with up/down bait movement and a group of fish will react to aggressive vertical jigging and one of those fish will normally grab the bait. This morning I was probably around a few hundred fish. If you want to fish deep in the fall/winter and you have 2D, then consider thinking about the spawn. From November thru March, the deep fish will setup in areas that are tailored made for staging for the spawn.....just keep in mind you need food, trees, and spawning habitat.

I have fished several mornings this November and the deep bite is pretty good. I normally keep the boat in 30-60 FOW and the best baits have been a 2.75 Damiki style bait and a 2.8 Keitech. I look for areas with trees and shad. The fish do not seem to be interested in a spoon or ice jig, but the water temperature probably needs to drop several degrees (currently 60-62). Right at daylight, the main activity is near the surface (3-15ft down) and once the sun gets high the bite is closer to the bottom. The fish suspended halfway down the water column are tough to catch because they do not seem to be interested in feeding. The Damiki and Keitech can both be worked horizontal and vertical, one of my best trips involved jigging the Keitech with 3/8oz jig head in 30-40ft where large schools were postured near the bottom. Drop speed can be the ticket that triggers bites, so I use jig heads in 3/8 to 5/8 range. There is an abundance of 8-13" fish so that looks good for the future keeper stock. Most trips produce a high percentage of K's but this morning included a few good LM.

Fished this morning and the shallow topwater bite was pretty good. I caught them on a plopper in ledge rock cuts. Also tried the buzzbait when I encountered wood cover but it produced no bites. I like the cuts that are about 100-200 yds in length and have a mixture of ledge rock with some good spawning rock in the area (small rock/gravel). I normally avoid the lengthy cuts that just have several hundred yds of good looking ledge rock. Had 5 decent LM, missed a few, and caught some shorts. WT 80

Fished by a kids summer camp boat dock this morning that had 4 inboard ski boats and each one had the storage covers up to keep them well ventilated. Perhaps they had read this thread.

Bill, thanks for sharing. I was hoping you would let us know the scoop on the shallow bite in your zip code. I think the real shallow bite in Kimberling is probably wrapping up. I had 7 LM keepers on Saturday morning but this morning the keeper count was 2. The shallow bite was a nice change of pace for this time of year.

The shallow bite with a spinnerbait has been very consistent for several days. The lake has been dropping approx 5" per day for weeks and the lake is getting close to summer pool. With that in mind, the LM are right on the bank (in 1 to 3 ft) and they seem to have very little interest in hanging around the outer edge of the bushes. The best banks are fairly flat with gravel/small rock & some buck brush and the key is having big isolated rocks. These bigger rocks hold the fish. The water has a nice stain color and this stain might hold some LM up super shallow even when the lake gets to 917. Conventional wisdom suggests the fish should be on the outside edges of remaining flooded bushes, but if you focus on that strategy you will miss a lot of opportunities. A 3 hour trip will normally produce 4 to 6 keeper LM with all being in the 2# range. Lately I have not been able to catch any shallow fish over 2#. I have tried topwater up shallow and it is not working for me. One of the pictures shows a bare bank at the end of a long stretch of buck brush and it has a big rock of the edge of the bank. A few days prior to the rock being exposed I caught a nice LM from it when it was in a foot of water. WT 86

I fished shallow the last two mornings and the bite is picking up. There was a slow period for several days after the shad spawn fizzled and the COE was not running much water. Once the COE started dropping the lake it appears to be having a positive effect on the bite. I am using of a spinnerbait and plopper and both are working well. A buzzer will work but I have not committed much time throwing it. Yesterday morning I had 6 keeper LM with 4 on a spinner and 2 on the plopper. This morning I had 4 keeper LM with 3 on a spinner and 1 on the plopper. I also lost 2 good LM on the plopper. The deal with using a moving bait is the best bite window is the first 90 minutes of daylight (6-7:30). After that timeframe the bites are few and far between. About 90% of the time I am fishing locations where I can hit the bank. WT 85-86

Fished this morning and I started out looking for deep fish but then changed to the shallow bite after a few stops. The first deep location was void of any fish and the second location produced 3 keeper K's. So many historically good deep locations are not holding fish. I started fishing shallow around manicured yards and that only produced a few shorts. Then I fished a point with the type of bush/tree (picture below) that seems to outperform other flooded cover/trees. Caught 4 LM on a spinnerbait and these fish were suspended next to bushes on the old shoreline depth (10-12ft). The 'point' bank was in the shade and there was a slight breeze. The submerged portion of the pictured bush/trees are getting void of leaves and this might make this cover less effective. Water color ranges from stained to somewhat clear. The stained water seems to be in locations were boat waves keep the shoreline churned up. WT 79-80

Fished this morning with spinnerbait and had 9 keepers with 4 K's and 5 LM. 2 keepers from manicured lawns, 3 positioned on type of bush/tree pictured above (on a point), and 4 on gravel parking areas associated with docks. The wind seemed to help the bite this morning. WT 80

The shallow flooded cover bite has changed for me from manicured lawns to the original shoreline depth (11-12ft at 928) with a certain type of bush/tree. This morning I tried manicured lawns with no success, then tried the front of three docks and each produced but they were short K's. So I tried a nearby medium slope 'ledge rock' main lake point with isolated cover and had 5 LM in 20 minutes. At that point I realized I had not done enough homework to know which points had a good combination of slope and isolated buck brush/trees on the 917 level shoreline. The picture below of bush/tree is by far the best fish holding cover. It is not really buck brush, but a small tree with limited height potential. Cotton woods, Oaks, Willows,,,, etc are very low percentage targets. Also lots of fry around....perhaps a combination of bass and shad fry. WT 78 -79

Got out for a few hours after the rain stopped and was able to catch a limit of LM. The one in the picture was waiting for a picnic table to open up. My rain gauge also showed approx 4" in last 2 days.

I grew up in the Florida panhandle fishing shallow around lots of cover (both in the water and overhead). I really like the challenge/entertainment of making accurate presentations to shallow targets. The Table Rock floods of 2008 and 2011 really made me explore fishing shallow on this lake. I prefer catching LM and the current shallow bite is working better than the deep bite. The deep post spawn bite around Kimberling did not unfold very well.

I have been fishing a residential pattern with a spinnerbait and catching mostly LM. Looking for manicured lawns with very limited cover. I prefer the lawns near the main lake. Topwater might work but you will need a slight breeze to push the leaves and saw dust to the bank. I have not spent much time trying topwater. Thick cover will produce but it seems to be limited to the shad spawn in the first hour of daylight. Residential areas also have numerous small docks and running a SB parallel to the swim decks will produce (but too many are shorts). I am seeing some fry around thick cover but that has not translated into bites. The water is fairly stained with the WT around 75-76. The pictured contraption in the middle of the lake is the old gas dock/store from Port of Kimberling. Not sure if it will be disassemble or used elsewhere.

With this being a heavy boat traffic weekend, I would recommend the following for bluegill fishing in the comfort of shade. Get plenty of fish food or dry dog food (whatever works) and feed the first two boat stalls on each side of the dock then move out to the middle "cable" stalls and feed each side. Then if Lazy Lees still owns that next dock over (the one with boats in it) I would feed it. Since it has boats in it year around it will be probably be the better bluegill dock since it is shaded year around. The above suggestion may not work but it might be worth a try.