Fly Fishing Table Rock Lake

[Justin927]

I have been fly fishing for trout for the last 15 years (I am 25) and have recently decided to branch out and try my hand at catching other fish. I am thinking of trying out table rock I have access to a boat dock and of course can fish from shore in coves and other areas, but usually no boat access. I am looking for advice on what I should fish for (bass, crappie, bluegill, etc), what flies to tie up, how to approach the fish (surface, submerged, strip, etc), leaders and tippets, and anything that would be helpful. I have a 6 wt Sage Flight so from what I have heard this should be able to handle bass? Thanks for any and all help!

[Wayne SW/MO]

Don't overlook the Finley and the James.

[Justin927]

I have fished the James once 5 years or so ago. My family has a cabin at Table Rock so I am down there quite often and sometimes when the water is running too hard to wade Taney I have thought about walking down the the lake, just not sure what I should throw or how to approach

[Flyfsh]

Your 6wt will work very well. From now thru summer 1 tip is try to cast with the shore instead of straight out to deeper water. This will keep your fly in front of more fish this way. If needed wade into the water a little and walk the shore. Most any top water fly ( mudler minnow, hopper, or others) in different sizes will work. A clouser minnow, wooly bugger, and a soft hackle will a get fishs attention. The larger the fly the heaver the leader needs to be. For most "bass" flies a 7-9' 4x leader. I like to use flourocarbon tippett. I generally like a 8-12lb test.

Good luck and come back with a fish story.

Jim

[Flysmallie]

If you are just looking to have some fun I would throw a popper. There are plenty of big gills and small bass close to the shore to keep you entertained. Maybe throw in some streamers to fish around docks and trees. Trying to fish the bottom from the bank is going to be frustrating on Table Rock.

As far as a leader I would use a 5 to 6 ft straight piece of 6 to 8 lb test line. No reason to get all fancy with a tapered leader.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I agree with Flysmallie about the popper and the leader. I fish BS walking the bank and as a rule a small yellow foam spider will keep you busy. I do alright with clousers and crawdad flies like the foxee redd and the claw dad, if you tie.

The foam spider though is more fun to me than stocker trout and can be addictive.

[Justin927]

Thanks a ton for all of the help everybody. Wayne, I do tie, do you have any how to's or patterns for poppers, especially this small yellow foam spider. I was able to find patterns for some of the others listed. Once again thanks for all of the input everybody.

[Wayne SW/MO]

The one I tie is simple.

On a 12 or 14 2X long hook, wrap the shank and tie in a strip of yellow, 2mm, foam at the bend, facing away from the eye. wrap the thread forward a little more than 1/3rd, pull the foam over and secure it and about an inch of leg material. Wrap forward to the 2/3rds area and repeat. Pull the foam to behind the eye and secure, then fold the foam back to the last leg tie and finish. Trim the foam left. You can cover the shank with estaz or chenille, but I've never noticed that it helps. These are simple and the fish like them.