focused fishing

4fishey, If you are targeting spots you will want to use the whole crawler, with gills a couple inches of crawler will do. Most of the gills I hae been catching are on flats and flat points from 15' - 25' deep real close to the bottom. Docks are always an option, look for bigger community and condo docks to be the most productive and don't ignor the "break waters" infront of these big docks. Many of these breakwaters have brush attached to them, don't know how it got there, it will attract gills and spots. Most of the fish will suspend under the docks or on the dock cables. Use your electronics to find the depth, if you don't have the electronics count your rig down to about 30' and work your way up from there. (A drop shot with a 3/8 or 1/2 oz. sinker will fall approx. 2' per second) Or you can find an area that is 30' deep rop it to the bottom and mark your line with a sharpie. Hope this helps and that you enjoy the lake. EP

You are right Champ 188, I've been followed by just as many alluminum rigs as tournament rigs. It's all about the person not the passion.

Guys try doing this for a living. Once someone realizes that you are a guide they will get close enough to jump in the boat with you, then follow you from spot to spot. I used to get mad but what's the use? Anymore I let my clients make the call on whether or not to leave. Nothing is as sweet to have someone pull up on you or even cut you off and then catch fish behind them while they struggle..

Kimberling City Area: With the falling water conventional wisdom says the fish should be pulling out into deep water. So far that is not holding true, every morning several fish are being caught on shallow points and flats though out the mid lake area from 8’ – 15’ deep. Jewel Pro spider and Football jigs with Chompers jig trailers have been the best bait in green pumpkin / green flash, green pumpkin candy flash and watermelon / purple flash with green pumpkin or melon twin tail trailers. Simply throw the bait to the bushes and work it slowly along the bottom back to the boat. Once the sun comes up a couple of patterns take shape; drop shot rigs with Robo Worm or Chompers drop shot worms in MM III , brown / purple or Aarons Magic have been taking fish suspended off the bottom from 15’ – 20’ over 25’ – 35’ feet of water, the second pattern is flipping the bushes. It sounds crazy for Table Rock but several fish are being caught flipping isolated bushes on flat points with an Eakins jig or tube. James River: The James is hot right now; deep crankbaits, football jigs, Carolina rigs and even shallow crankbaits are taking both quality and numbers of fish. The typical summer patterns are dominate, look for fish to be on gravel roll offs through out the mid to upper river and work DD-22’s, DT-16’s and Strike King 600 Series crankbaits along and over the drop. Alternate Jewel Football jigs and Carolina rigs on these same locations working the bat from the flat into the channel to be effective. Most of the bites will come as the bait is falling off the roll off so pay close attention to any changes is direction or weight as you pull the bait off the drop. Further up the river and in the back of larger creeks several fish are being caught on shallow crankbaits; Bagley squarebills, Lucky Craft R.C 1 or R.C. 2 crankbaits worked around shallow cover have been catching numbers and quality as well, run the crankbait into the cover to draw reaction strikes. White River: The White river continues to produce; Football Jigs, Carolina Rigs, Drop Shot Rigs, Deep Crankbaits, Spoons and Buzz Baits are all producing throughout the river. Much like the James the bite is concentrated on points with deep water close by and rolls offs on flats; concentrate your efforts on the drop to be effective. Any isolated brush or rock cover on these areas should be fish thoroughly with a variety of baits. The drop shot bite is similar to the mid lake area, most of the fish are suspended off the bottom from 12’ – 25’ deep over 25’ – 35’ of water, pay close attention to your electronics and the feel of your line, the fish are swimming up with the bait and knocking slack in the line, if you don’t pay attention you will miss most of the bites. Up the Kings and in the backs of bigger creeks there is a buzz bait bite early and late, work the bait in and around shad close to cover to be effective. Dam / Branson Area: The bite on the lower end is as productive as the rest of the lake, spider and football jigs, drop shot rigs and deep crankbaits are all producing numbers and quality. Look for shallow points with deep water close by to be holding most of the fish. Fish Jewel football and spider jigs in green pumpkin / green flash or green pumpkin candy flash with Chompers trailers from the brush line out to 25’ deep. Deep crankbaits are working on roll offs and flats with isolated rock or brush piles, make long casts beyond the cover and run the bait into the cover from several angles to be effective. Much like the rest of the lake the majority fish being caught on a drop shot rig are suspended. Look for the level the majority of the shad are holding to key you into the depth holding the fish. Most of the fish have been around 15’ – 25’ range over 25’ – 40’ of water. Natural colors like Aaron’s Magic, MMIII and brown / purple have been the most effective. Don’t Miss Tournament Fishing Radio on ESPN 1400 AM Springfield Mondays 5:30pm and Saturdays 5:00 am or on-line at www.espn1400.com www.focusedfishing.com

Wack'em, I've got to disagree a little. For years I fished brown / green pumpkin combo but over the past couple of years I have started using a wider variety of colors, PB&J, green pumpkin candy, watermelon purple flash, etc... I've noticed that a sutle color change can make a huge difference not only in the number but quality of bites my clients and I get. Bluewave, a good selection of browns and greens with "barbwire" (solid color strands with black stripes) silicone skirts should get you on the right track. Like Techo said match the craws tey are feeding on. As far as pork is concerned, the new plastic trailers have better action, are more lifelike and don't dry out on the deck. Good luck and ask all the questions you like, this forum is here to help. EP

Bill's right, had a father and son from Springfield and we talked about the lightning strike the rest of the morning, between catching fish. I'm stunned how shallow the fish are right now, after the storm let up we ran to one point and caught 20 - 25 fish in less than an hour and a half all on a Jewel Spider jig (green pumpkin candy flash and watermelon purple flash)including a couple of nice keepers. Nick, the son, had a big SJ on and it shook the jig about ten feet from the boat. These fish hot, just about everyone made big runs with plenty of aerobatics to entertain the crowd.

Sorry thought the news was more important than an image, didn't have the image at the time. here ya go.....

A few tournaments do have immediate release, "paper tournaments" where a fish is weighed or mesured and reported at the end of the day. The problem is accountability. Once bigger money gets involved cheating is sure to follow.

Greg Blair caught a new Missouri state record Striped Bass 56.35 lbs. at the pot hole in Forsyth on Saturday. The fish was verified at the hatchery.

Excuse me while I step on my soap box........ Well it looks like the annual slaughter has begun, every year poorly run club, marina and good ol' boy tournaments kill hundreds of bass on Table Rock lake during night tournaments. Last year I ranted and raved on the radio about a night tournament put on by a "professional" organization where three 50 gallon trash bags were filled with dead fish after the weigh in. The "professional" tournament director's response to my concern about fish care was met with "hey there just fish and we're going to eat 'em anyway, what's the big deal". Every year I show up in the morning to go to work after these "tournaments" to find dozens of fish left floating, some died in the live well some after the weigh in, all because of a "don't care about the fish attitude". Enough is enough, here are some suggestion: Time limits; many of these events are "all nighters", like there is something more macho about fishing all night. 12 hours in a live well is ridiculous, end night tournmants at 12:00 or 1:00 am. Fish Care: this could be a book but, most of these events don't even have bump tanks, they make the guys stand in line with bags of fish. Ice, salt, rejuvinate, whatever needs to be added to both live wells and bump tanks. Anglers and directors both must be held accountable for not "fizzing" fish, if you are going to fish over 25' deep you must know how to care for these fish, no excuses. All tournament directors must be held responsible for improper care of the fish. Permits: Many of these events do not have regatta permits, bust and fine every tournament that does not have a permit. These are a few items I'm sure there are several more. I'm not bashing night tournaments, there are several that are run extremely well with little mortality (Bill's Marine weekly Friday nighter at Campbell Point for example), but the minority is going to give a black eye to night events and tournament fishing in genneral. A couple of years ago we almost lost the ability to have tournaments on Grand Lake because of a similar situation. If this continues, Table Rock may be the next to come under the assult of PETA and their ilk. O.K., sorry about the rant..... EP

I have a couple of friends that live on the lake and they have been catching fish on points and humps with carolina rigs and football jigs 15' - 25' deep. The Corps is drawing the lake down as fast as they can so the fish have been positioned on the "down stream side" of the points. Good Luck, EP

All of the gravel points at Joe Bald have some big gill on them as well, had two over a pound earlier this week plus enough to make a nice "mess". We caught thme on a drop shot rig 20' - 25' deep with about a third of a crawler on the bottom. Fish till you catch one and then stay on the school, if your catching small ones move about 50 yards until you see another school and drop again, there are some big ones there it's just a matter of finding the right school. Good Luck EP

I tell my clients we will fish in the rain but not in lightning. For the most part they bring rain gear and we're all set. Did have one guy similar to the situation Chris had a couple of years ago, he was pretty upset when I ran back to the dock in a lightning storm, offered to wait the storm out on the dock and head back out for the last hour of his trip but he told me the fishing wouldn't be any good after the storm past and walked back to his car PO'd. To bad for him, they bit like trained pigs that afternoon.

Gotta Agree with tkite, my favorite by far is no bite you just see your line swimming away from the cover you you just pitched a jig to, plenty of time to reel down and set the hook. Plus, chances are there is another fish in the same spot the firt one was trying to get away from.

Kimberling City Area: What a great year on Table Rock, I can’t remember the last time we were able to catch fish all over the lake this shallow in July. The best bite early has been on a Jewel football or Pro Spider jig in green pumpkin / green flash with a green pumpkin Chompers jig trailer. Work the bait slowly along the bottom from 18’ – 25’ on gravel and mixed gravel / rock points. A shaky head is a great option on these points as well, green pumpkin or watermelon / candy 4” or 6” finesse worms on a ¼ oz. have been the ticket. Once the sun comes up it is time to move out to deeper water, these same points will produce fish 35’ – 45’ deep on a drop shot rig with either a Chompers brown / purple drop shot worm or a Robo Worm MMIII. Key on points that have a channel swing close by or right against the point most of the fish will hold tight to the point but if you loose the fish move out into the swing and most likely they are suspending over deep water. James River: The James River is producing good catches of fish on a several different patterns right now; Football and Pro Spider Jigs, Carolina rigged lizards, brush hogs and trick worms, deep crankbaits and even a few fish being taken on shallow crankbaits. Much like the mid-lake area Jewel Football and Pro Spider jigs will produce on gravel and mixed gravel / rock points near deep water on both the main lake and in major creek arms. PB&J, brown / purple flash and Missouri craw jigs with green pumpkin Chompers jig trailers worked slowly along the bottom 15’ – 25’ deep will produce numbers and some surprising quality. Carolina rigs are working in these same areas; drag the bait on the bottom paying close attention whenever the sinker drops off a ledge or into a ditch. DD-22’s, DT-16’s and Junior D crankbaits are all working well on ledges, rock piles and humps throughout the James. In the back of major creek arms a number of fish are being taken on shallow crankbaits; square bills, R.C. 1.5 and 2.5, Fat Boys etc. are effective around flooded laydowns where shad are present; make multiple casts to the cover from a variety of angles to be effective. White River: The White River is just plain fun right now; it is almost a “how do you want to fish today” scenario. Do you want to fish deep? Drop shot rigs are working on off shore humps, the ends of points and the deep side of points from Baxter to Shell Knob. You wanna fish a jig or a Carolina rig? PB&J or green pumpkin / green flash Jewel football and Pro Spider jigs or Carolina rigged lizards and brush hogs are working on gravel and mixed gravel / rock points from 18’ – 25’ deep from point 9 on up. You flip and pitch? The Kings River has some great flipping action on Eakins jigs and Ultra Tubes in flooded brush and debris on the ends of points and bluff ends. Shallow crankbait? Head to the back of major creek arms and throw a square bill around laydowns and flooded brush. Topwater? There is a short lived buzzbait bite early and late in the backs of creeks and shallow pockets in the Kings or above Big M. Pretty amazing fishery in the white river this past week. Dam / Branson Area: The lower end of the lake is very productive right now as well. Much like the mid-lake are early and late the football and Pro Spider jig bite is hard to beat. A good mix of smallmouth and spots can be caught from 20’ – 35’ deep on pea gravel and mixed rock and gravel points from daybreak until around 9:30 and again from around 7:00 until dusk. Shaky heads will work these times as well it is just a little more difficult to fish a light head that deep. Once the sun gets high the deep bite really turns on with Chompers drop shot worms and Robo Worm MMIII worms taking center stage fished from 25’ – 50’ deep on the ends of points, drops on the deep sides of points and bluff ends or channel swings. A few fish have begun to be caught on spoons in and around the tree tops as well, they are not positioned in the trees, more on top of the trees so a vertical presentation is almost impossible without spooking the fish. Cast the spoon out, allow it to fall to about 20’ and start ripping and pausing it over the tree tops to get bit. Don’t Miss Tournament Fishing Radio on ESPN 1400 AM Springfield Mondays 5:30pm and Saturdays 5:00 am or on-line at www.espn1400.com www.focusedfishing.com

WebFreeman is right, we don't do a live feed but all the shows are available on the archives. New shows are uploaded on Tuesday AM each week. Hope you like it. EP

Shaner, I use a #4 or #6 octopus hook (a bait holder will work) and nose hook the crawler a couple of times allowing most of it to hang loose and wiggle around on it's own. Look for long points with deep water close by or saddles with deep water on either side. The bite has gotten a little toughter and most of the fish are suspending in the 30' - 40' range over as much as 150' of water so quality electronics are key. You should be able to catch a few right on the bottom in 30' - 40' of water on points early. Good Luck

Coyote, I've never tried it but I think the change in pressure from the surface to 40' + would kill the shiner and make it in effective. Techno, Don't know how you could rig it so it would hang up. Good idea though. EP

Great question, the few ramps that will be open over the 4th will be a mess. The only thing I can think of would be Mill Creek or Cow Creek. With either of those you would be able to pull into the adjacent creek and have a little room for tubing. If I had to choose I would take Cow Creek, no courtesy dock but a great ramp that is under utilized.

Maybe it's been such a cool & raining spring that my memory is slipping but it sure seems like the "big wake" boat traffic is worse this summer than last. I know OK as no wake zones around bridges, of course we would need water patrol to enforce it, but it would be nice to fish a bridge pilling (for that matter an off shore hump) without having to do the trolling motor two step all afternoon.

I noticed a few more in the bushes over the past day or two myself, I have been catching them on a jig and a shaky head out of the bushes as well. Haven't had a problem with fish throwing a jig but I have noticed alot of fish short striking and biting the "pinchers" off of the trailer.

Fishin'chemteacher, Moonshine beach is closed and will likely remain so until the lake is closer to 923'. The corp is concerned with boaters running into the guard rail on the edge(s) of the ramp. The Beach it's self will not be open this year according to the Corps.

Kimberling City Area: Fish have definitely moved out from the shallows over the past week. Several fish are being taken on Carolina rigs and Drop Shot rigs through out the mid lake area. Look to long points with deep water close by to be holding most of the fish. On the drop shot rig a number of baits have been effective; Chompers drop shot worms in purple / brown laminate or plum, Robo Worm 6” worms in Ox Blood and Red Crawler and Kinami Cut Tail worms in purple / brown are all working well. On a Carolina rig green pumpkin or watermelon red lizards, baby brush hogs and Salty Sinkers have all been producing. The C-Rig has been effective from 18’ – 25’ deep while the Drop Shot is working from 25’ – 35’ deep. James River: There are several patterns producing in the James River; Jewel Football Jigs, Carolina Rigs, Flipping and deep crankbaits have all been effective. Jewel Football Jigs and Carolina rigs have been working on main lake pea gravel points and saddles from 18’ – 25’ deep. Best colors have been PB&J, green pumpkin and watermelon red. Several quality fish have been coming out of bushes and the flooded cover on and around points and channel banks; Eakins jigs with Paca Chunk trailers, Baby Brush Hogs and Salty Sinkers have all been effective flipping baits in green pumpkin or PB&J. Numbers of better fish have begun to show up on ledges and roll offs through out the upper James, target these fish with DD-22’s and DT-16 crankbaits making parallel casts banking the bait into isolated brush and rock cover. White River: The White River arm is really good right now; drop shot rigs, Jewel Football Jigs and Carolina rigs are all producing from Baxter to Shell Knob, flipping tactics and shallow crankbaits are working in the Kings River and Jewel Spider and Football Jigs are producing from Shell Knob to Eagle Rock. From Baxter to Shell Knob look for pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points to be holding most of the fish, dragging Jewel Football Jigs in PB&J or green pumpkin green flash or Carolina rigged brush hogs and lizards has been one of the most effective patterns from 18’ – 30’ deep. Most of these fish are holding on the deeper side of the point. Spots have started to suspend in deeper water off channel swing points, target these fish with drop shot rigs with Chompers or Robo Worm drop shot worms. In the Kings there is a bunch of fish holding on flooded bushes and wood cover; flip Eakins Jigs, Brush Hogs and Ultra Tubes in and around this cover. Toward the backs of feeder creeks look for schools of shad and throw square bill crankbaits in and around the shad to be effective. Further up the White most of the fish are coming on points from 15’ – 25’ deep with Jewel Spider or Football jigs worked slowly along the bottom, PB&J and brown / purple flash have been the best colors. Dam / Branson Area: Fish seem further into a summer pattern on the lower end of the lake. There is still a topwater bite very early in the morning, look for surface activity and throw spooks, sammys and redfins to schools of active fish. Once the sun comes up the best bite has been on drop shot rigs; Chompers drop shot worms in purple / brown laminate or plum, Robo Worms in Ox Blood or MM III and Kinami cut tails in shad or brown / purple have all been effective. Target main lake points with deep water close by concentrating on the 35’ – 45’ depth. Several fish have been suspending on bluff end points and in submerged trees, look for schools of shad in the 25’ – 50’ range holding close to trees and bluff ends and the fish will be close by. These fish can be caught on the same drop shot rigs mentioned above as well as spoons and grubs.

Snake'em, A couple of things to try: Add a rubber or foam insulator on the trolling motor covering the area between the transducer and motor. I use a rubber plumbing adjustable pipe joint on mine. Add a ground wire from the "pipe clamp" band holding the transducer to the ground on the trolling motor power line. Either of these should take care of the situation.

Kimberling City Area: Fish have begun their transition from the bank to deeper water, several fish taken over the past week on a combination of Chompers 4” single tail grubs and Chompers drop shot worms. On windy days, and there have been plenty lately, fish are relating to windy flats and flat points from 18’ – 25’ deep and can be caught on salt and pepper or smoke / pepper 4” grubs. On calm days these same fish will be a little deeper, using a drop shot begin your search at 20’ and work your way out until you locate fish. For the most part they have been relating to the bottom but there have been some marauding groups of Kentuckies suspended over 60’ – 80’ of water destroying schools of shad. A few largemouth have begun to show up in the bushes as well, you won’t get rich flippin the bushes but a limit can be caught in an eight hour day. James River: The drop shot and grub bite has been very good up the James River as well; look for fish to be holding in the same locations as the mid-lake. From Piney up there has been a very good Carolina rig bite on lizards and brush hogs, look for flat points with deep channel bends close by to hold most of the fish. Make fan casts from the side of the point until you locate the depth the fish are holding in and then concentrate at that depth. The upper reaches of the James and Flat creek have been productive with square bill crankbaits in and around flooded bushes, much like the flippin bite in the mid lake you won’t get rich throwing a square bill but a few quality will bite. With all of the wind this past week the topwater bite slowed to a crawl, not sure if it will pick up when the wind dies down but we will see this week. White River: The White River is producing good numbers and quality right now; grubs, drop shots and split shot rigs have all been producing fish on gravel and mixed gravel points and flats. The best depth range has been 18’-25’ deep but on calm sunny days you will need to move out and fish 20’-35’ to be productive. Jewel Football Jigs in brown / purple flash and PB&J with green pumpkin twin tail trailers have been very productive on mixed rock points with very deep water close by. Work the bait along the bottom slowly from shallow to deep, pay close attention as most of the bites have been very soft with the jig feeling “spongy” or “like it picked up some moss”. A very good flipping bite has started up the Kings River; fish have settled into the new log jams and other debris and can be caught on Eakins Jigs or Eakins Flip’N Finesse jigs with a Paca or other chunk trailer. Dam / Branson Area: The dam area is producing as well, drop shot rigs, mojo and split shots, grubs and tubes have all been catching fish from 20’-35’ deep. Jewel 5/16 oz spider jigs in green pumpkin candy flash and green pumpkin / green flash with Chompers jig trailers have also started to produce; mixed rock and gravel points close to deep water are the most effective, work the bait slowly along the bottom paying close attention at all times. The top water bite has been slow on the slower end as well, several fish have been slashing at the bait and not getting it. Further up Long Creek the bite has been tougher, the best bite has been pitching an Eakins jig to flooded debris and bushes or working a square bill on flats toward the back of creeks. Don’t Miss Tournament Fishing Radio on ESPN 1400 AM Springfield Mondays 5:30pm and Saturdays 5:00 am or on-line at www.espn1400.com www.focusedfishing.com