June Fishing

[mclothier1]

Hi all,

First a little intro...

I have been coming to TRL along with the rest of my wife's side of the family for the last few years for vacation usually the first or second week in June. there are about five or six of us that really try hard to catch a few fish, but it seems like every year we dont have any luck catching anything of any size or quantity...excpet maybe bluegill which is fun, but I really want to put my father in law on a big fish this year. Plus We have always wanted to do a fish fry, but we have never caught enough to make it a dinner, more like a snack.

Ive been lurking for the last few months reading as much as I can about fishing the Rock. This year looks to be different with the high water and all. Im assuming the level will drop back somewhat, but anybody have a guess what it might be in June? Ill keep reading to see whats working and whats not, but any specific tips are greatly appreciated.

We are from Kansas and not used to the clear water and deep fishing, I dont have a high dollar fish finder, just an old Eagle. We try to adapt but so far it hasnt been easy getting down to the fish or finding anything the fish actually wanna bite. Things we have tried in the past include just about every crankbait in the box, spinnerblades of various types, plastics of various types but never tried the drop shot rigs, but out best luck has been drifting off of points with a white roadrunner, my youngest son actually caught a 3# LM last year and boy was he excited!

After some reading I have stocked the box with various types of drop shot stuff, some Chompers plastics and jigs and a few more spinnerbaits. I have also hired a guide (Keith Greenough) for a couple of half days to hopefully put us on some fish or at least knock us over the head and point us in the right direction. After reading about how the fishing is picking up so far this year, I REALLY want this year to be special.

Oh...almost forgot, Ive got a bro in law that loves to trotline for catfish, any locations or tips for that would be extremely helpful too. Last year he caught one 9# flathead out of cow creek on the trotline baited with sunfish, I know we can do better than one fish all week!!

So thanks in advance for any help you toss my way.

Mitch

[Tom Spence]

Late May into June I'm looking for post spawn fish moving out off of points. When I say points, I mean loooooong points going out into the main lake. If you're not used to it, you'll feel a little weird about being 2 or 3 HUNDRED yards off shore. Follow the point out to deeper water and when you start seeing activity on your graph, drop that chompers worm down to them. If your graph isn't good enough to see your bait, take a marker and make a mark on the line at the depth you want it at or when you get a bite. that way you'll get it back to the same depth. A heavy football jig or carolina rigged lizard or sweet beaver out deep on the point has worked for me too. It covers alot of water and all you have to do is drag it.

[rps]

You are coming at a great time. Look forward to the trip.

As of now, anyone that says they know for sure what the water level and color will be in the first week of June should be forced to take a breathalyzer. My guess (provided I don't have to wager on it) is lake level 921 - 925 and dingy green to clear. I base that on the fact May is our traditional wet month. Even though water will be released through gates and generation, the net will keep the water up.

For bass, add Spooks, Chug Bugs, and wake baits to your list. If your father in law is not comfortable walking the dog, put him with the chug bug and tell him "pop, pop, pop, pause, twitch, pop, pop, pause, repeat." Fish these from false dawn until sun on the water. This time block is also known as can't see until skidoo. When the water is up in early June, I look for flooded brush on the sides of long finger points. That is Spook and Chug Bug water. Pole timber where a bluff changes to fist size rock is the ticket for wake baits.

You didn't mention whether you would be lower, mid, or up lake. For down lake tips others can help more than I. If you will be up lake, PM me, and I will suggest a few locations. These patterns work, especially when the water is up. Have confidence in them. In addition, they are higher odds for big fish for sometimes Rock fishermen.

[FRENZEL]

Those first few weeks in June are great for night fising. If you want a fish fry, try fishing under the lights. Crappie and whites. I do it to relax when my dad comes down or when a friend wants to go fishing. Quiet, calm, mild temp. You can set some trotlines out before sunset and check them on your way back in.

[Jason Essary]

frenzel, love the light idea. where do u suggest doing it and what bait do u use.

[mclothier1]

Late May into June I'm looking for post spawn fish moving out off of points. When I say points, I mean loooooong points going out into the main lake. If you're not used to it, you'll feel a little weird about being 2 or 3 HUNDRED yards off shore. Follow the point out to deeper water and when you start seeing activity on your graph, drop that chompers worm down to them. If your graph isn't good enough to see your bait, take a marker and make a mark on the line at the depth you want it at or when you get a bite. that way you'll get it back to the same depth. A heavy football jig or carolina rigged lizard or sweet beaver out deep on the point has worked for me too. It covers alot of water and all you have to do is drag it.

Last year we had our best luck out on some of those long points, my son caught the 3#er on the long point across the lake from the glass house just east of Kimberling, I think its point #7. So we plan to hit that area a lot more this year.

We stay at Lone Pine on coney island, so we are close to Kimberling. As far as the fishing we have tried most of the areas from Kimberling to Indian point but Im sure we missed a few places. I am willing to go wherever I need to, even if it means long trips like Shell Knob.

We havent tried night fishing with the lights, Ive got a couple of those floating crappie lights, but I've also seen those submersible LED and Halogen lights, which ones work the best? And what areas or methods work the best?

Ive got a few topwater lures, stuff like jitterbugs, hula poppers and I think Ive got at least one chug bug. I've been buying up lures for several years now since I made the mistake of leaving my tacklebox in the center aisle of the boat and the whole mess flew up and out of the boat and onto the highway going about 70mph on the KS turnpike. By the time I got back, most of the stuff was ruined and a lot of it got run over by other cars. Ill never do that again!

Thanks for the info so far.. cant wait till we can wet our lines!!!

[mclothier1]

Just wanted to add, we are mostly catch and release type of people, if we are lucky enough to land a pig it will get its picture taken and then right back in the lake. For the fish fry we will only take the smaller ones (legal of course) and if we can find a mess of crappie, bluegill, or even a walleye then all the better.

Oh and what I mean by big fish for the father in law... If we can get him hooked up with anything larger than 3# then its gonna be a great trip!

[mclothier1]

Mick,

After thinking about it a bit, I would love to update while Im there, but isnt a vacation supposed to be about getting away from all that junk? LOL Just checked their website and they do have WiFi. Ill have to see if it will connect.

S&M hmmm, looks like a nice unit for just a little more. Ill keep my eyes open, thanks

[mclothier1]

Well Im back...

Vacation was awesome! Caught more fish this year than we ever have.

We got there Friday night 6/13 got stuff settled and pulled the boat out and decided to try the drop shot for the first time ever, it was probably 10:30pm and I just trolled out to the point just to the south of Lone Pine's dock and ended up catching a 18" Striper/Wiper ? not really sure, never caught one before but it hammered the drop shot and put up a nice fight.

Saturday/Sunday wasnt able to get out and do any serious fishing, mostly family stuff.

Monday 6/16 we got on the water at 6:30 am and hit points from #5 to #7 with the half day guide trip. Drop shotting crawlers in about 25-32 feet of water, the bite was REAL light, not what I was expecting, the fish would just pick up the crawler and put a lil pressure on the rod tip, if you were impatient and couldnt wait you would yank it right out of their mouth. At any rate we only ended up with 6 keepers all K's biggest one was 18" had probably another 6 that were short.

Tuesday 6/17 another half day with the guide, tried the same method as monday, but we started out around Kimberling and worked south to #5, we found out that the cold front that came thru really turned the bite off for us anyways. The guide at one point showed the screen to me and pointed out his drop shot and the fish following it....then proceeded to wiggle it right in front of his face....no bite! He was marking fish the same as the day before, but they just didnt bite. Ended up getting one keeper K right at the end of our trip, but it wasnt a total loss, we all caught fish, a few goggle eye, a few short SM and even some nice hand sized bluegill.

Wed-Thurs Tried to duplicate what the guide was showing us, still no bite, Thursday we found another way to catch a few, we noticed that by 10am or so the same fish we were dropshotting were moving out over deeper water. we found them suspended anywhere from 12-20 feet in water from 35 to 70 foot deep. Seemed like they were lining up on the points across the mouth of big coves. Ended up trolling deep diving crankbaits and caught a few but I wouldnt say it was fantastic.

All in all we had a great time, caught enough fish to keep us from getting bored. And already planning the trip for next June!

[rps]

I am so glad you enjoyed yourself and caught some fish. Watching someone that knows the lake and fish show them to you is almost ...ALMOST ... as good as catching the big ones.

Come back soon. Come back often.

rps