Late October Fishing On Table Rock

[bassguy]

Hey guys I am a newbie here. A group of us are planning a trip down to Table Rock in late October, Our first time down there ever. We are going to be in the indian point area. I was just wondering if the indian point area was a good area for fishing and if the fishing good that time of year on table rock. Thanks ahead of time for any info you can give a newbie.

[Bill Babler]

Fishing should be excellent.

Instead of posting what you should or should not be doing and how and where the bass are in the area at that time, I'll let you just keep watching the forum. You will see how and where we are a catchin-em as I'm sure there will be current informatin posted here for the time of your arrival.

Keep commin back for the current lake fishing reports.

Thanks for registering with Ozark Anglers and welcome

BB

[CaptainJoe]

BassGuy,

Welcome to the site. The "Search" feature on this site is excellent. You can go through the old October/early November posts to research past information on typical baits used and presentations. There is so much information on this site. This will help a lot when you monitor the current posts, as Bill stated, which will help you get up to speed faster.

"An informed fisherman is a better fisherman."

Good luck,

[Slabs]

First time poster here as well. I am coming down with my father the first weekend in October and will be fishing from the Shell Knob area. I have been watching the reports and trying to keep up to speed with how people are fishing Table Rock. This site is great and I do appreciate all of the information and time that people spend on posting reports, strategy, baits, etc. that really help people like me out. Thanks.

Bill and Captain Joe... I was also kind of wondering what the fishing is generally like in late September / early October. Usually a good time for fishing or a little tougher? I have been researching the historical reports for that time of year, like bassguy suggested. I am just not sure how the lake/fish are this year in relation to last year or even say typical fall time periods. Is the lake temperature and the recent weather putting the lake on path for the fish to move up shallow by the end of the month or will that be done and the fish scattered? I'm trying to learn the nuances of the lake in short order here, so I apologize if I come off as a complete "newbie".

Thanks ahead of time for any perspective or guidance that you can provide.

[Bill Babler]

It seems the more I know about the yearly fishing patterns, the less I really know. After fishing here for in excess of 30 years, it seems the same patterns never really develop at the same time on any given year.

Traditionally late Sept. and early Oct. can just be a "Really Hard Time" to fish the rock. As the water cools, and we lose our thermocline, we have a dispersal of the deep fish. Common sense would say, they are going shallow to feed on crustasions. Maybe so, Maybe not. As we loose our precious bottom floor ie the thermocline, it is not uncommon at all for the fish to move to depths of 30 to 70 ft. or for that matter, as shallow as having their backs dry out in a high sun.

The move has already started this year, for me and most of my very close guiding associates, we have totally lost our deep thermocline Kentucky Bite. Yes, we are finding some under shad schools, and chasing shad. A few in Cedars tops, but the majority that we make our living on has vanished. The fish we are finding now are those that in a small quanity are always there. They don't seem to run with the crowd, and are loners.

On the other hand the shallow Smallmouth bite is as good as I have seen it. It can get better even in the Late Fall, but this is a much deeper bite, on flat rolloffs, channel swings, and humps. They are shallow now. Some of the other guys, found them before I did, but I am making up ground on them quickly, fishing for them everyday.

If it were me, I would target the SMJ's and work the jig for them shallow, out to about 18 ft. on any shelf or windy location you can find. When Eric and Don and Joe first reported them they were on the long flat stuff, and I fished it extremely hard and could not get them to go. I moved to a little steeper stuff with some ledges and some chunk, "Let's say, basketball size rock," and started finding very nice fish.

Largemouth are just starting up the river systems, with the James being as slow this Summer, as I can remember it being in the last 3 yrs. or so.

For volume's of K's, I still have not got that down yet. They will by late Oct be in that magic 24 to 36 ft. range, and also on the windy banks, but I am not finding them as we speak.

Keep looking at the site and I'm sure it will become as clear as mud when you arrive.

[Whack'emGood]

That was some great advice for bassguy, Slabs, and all of us locals as well...

Thanks Bill and Joe... top notch, as always.

Whack'em