5/3 Fishing Report

[focused fishing]

Kimberling City Area: The bite has changed a little in the last week but for the most part it has gotten better. While there are still fish to be caught in the shallow flooded timber the best bite is out away from the bank. The fish are staging in a big way for the spawn and as soon as the water warms there will be a mad rush to the bank to spawn. The best bite over all has been on a 4” Chompers single tail grub in smoke / pepper or salt and pepper rigged on a ¼ oz. jig head. Look for the fish to be holding from the old bank line out to 30’ feeding on shad and crawfish. Day to day the fish will change the depth they are holding at in that range, one day they will be on the bottom the next they will be suspended less than five feet deep, pay attention to your electronics and vary the depth you are retrieving your bait until you find the fish.

James River: The bite up the James has been very good this week as well, several fish have already moved to the beds in the warmer water. While it is not a full on assault of the bank, there are enough fish up making beds that it won’t take long before they lock on and actually spawn. The best bite has been off of the beds on a combination of a Carolina rigged lizard or brush hog and a Jewel Football Jig. Look for long tapering pea gravel and mixed gravel rock points near the mouths of spawning coves and pockets to hold the most fish and work either presentations from 15’ – 25’ deep. Color selection is pretty standard Table Rock fare; brown / purple flash or PB&J on the jig and green pumpkin with some sort of flake (red, blue, purple, etc..) on the lizard and brush hog.

White River: The White River really turned around this week, the bite has been a little slower than the rest of the lake but this week it turned around. The grub bite has picked up following the same presentation as the Kimberling area, the jig and Carolina rig bite is working well on the mouths of spawning pockets as well and up the Kings River there has been a resurgent spinnerbait bite. Chompers McCutchen spinnerbaits work parallel to large logs and other debris in shallow spawning pockets has produced some very nice fish over the past week. These fish appear to be large females that are holding tight to the wood cover waiting to move in and spawn.

Dam / Branson Area: Despite the cold front the bite at the dam area has changed little, still several fish being caught on Chompers single tail grubs and the shaky head and split shot rig bites are coming into their own. Just like the rest of the lake the grub bite is in and around spawning coves, the fish on the lower end have not begun their spawn yet but they are grouped up and poised to move shallow en mass. Pay attention to the depth the shad are holding in around the dam, it will give you a very good idea where the fish will be holding. The shaky head and split shot bites are not as dependable as the grub bite but the quality of fish seems to be much more consistent. Fish either presentation in the same area as the grub on the bottom from 15’ – 30’ deep. Best baits have been green pumpkin fish doctors and french fries on the split shot and finesse worms and Senkos on the shaky head.

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[Gary Lange]

Another indispensable fishing report from one of our contributing guides. Thank you Eric I will try these methods Monday when I go out of the State Park chasing dreams.