What's The Secret?!

[TrAB418]

New to the forum here, but been fishing since I was a kid at Lake of The Ozarks. I can't seem to master Lake Springfield. Mainly James River by 65 bridge. I have tried every lure, color, speed, cove, brush pile, bank and I can't consistently catch nice bass. So I'm wondering what other people are throwing, working, and where they recommend fishing. If its your secret then by all means keep it, but if anyone is willing to help a fellow fisherman out, I would love it. Past couple of days I've fishing from 65 bridge towards the main lake using mostly bright spinners, retrieving really slow. I've also tried some bass colored crankbaits, again bringing them back real slow. I've had some luck on the cranks but not much.

Sorry for the novel and thank you for any help!

[jbtiwns30]

Ive been catching alot on purple and white jerk baits or blue and white rattle traps but if water is all calm in the morning use horny toads.

[MSUFisherBear]

Well, I'll probably get throttled for this being as so many guys are crankbait and spinnerbaits guys, but personally those would be the two lowest on my list. I do really well on swim baits, jerk baits, worms, and jigs. I do we'll on black and silver due I think mainly to the thread fin population in the lake. I also do well on green pumpkin colored soft baits

[TrAB418]

Thanks for the advice. Next time I head out there I think I'm gonna try some different types of soft plastics, brushhogs and worms and see if I do any better. My arsenal is kind of limited at the moment, being I'm a spinner/crank kinda guy. What do you mean by thread fin population though fisher?

[MSUFisherBear]

The lake has a really good population of gizzard shad (I get the two mixed up sometimes). They benifit from the warmer water temperatures from the power plant located on the lake, as well as the good habitats. I have seem them in schools working the surface during the summer as big as a large bass boat.

The MDC has a little more info on them - http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/gizzard-shad

In all honesty, they do eat a bunch of these, but they are pretty weary on some baits to me. I think a SPRO Lil' John in Cell Mate would be a really good color for this lake. One I haven't tried yet, but want to shortly.

[Mule659]

A good buddy and I decided we were going to figure that lake out last year. It took a lot of work, but we started catching good fish every single outing. Anywhere from the dam area to way up river. There are a few spots that were always producers with fish in the 3-5 range. Big one of the year in there went right at 6. I'll say this about tackle...when we first started I took a huge box with everything I could find. Now my river box is one of the small KVD boxes you can buy at Bass Pro with multiples of the same 4 lures.

[Mule659]

plastic worms always treat me good out there.

[RSBreth]

Steeper banks in Winter - shallow coves and backwaters prespawn, and shoreline cover close to deeper water the rest of the time. Lures are whatever works from spinnerbaits and cranks to swimbaits and topwaters. I can catch a few decent Bass every time but I think a couple of years there wasn't a good spawn so there's a few less 3 to 5-pound Bass, it seems to be you either catch a big one or lots of 2 and 3 pounders. Either that or everyone is keeping the Bass, which wouldn't surprise me.

[jbtiwns30]

You will be shocked to see how many people keep bass that are 11 inches or a bit less. Its sad but u cant stop it.

[MSUFisherBear]

You will be shocked to see how many people keep bass that are 11 inches or a bit less. Its sad but u cant stop it.

Here's my opinion on that one. Keep the dinks. The more big bass there are, the better the genetics in the lake would be. Anything over 12" needs to be turned back. It's really the same scenario as taking a smaller buck as opposed to a larger one so that your heard has genetics for bigger deer left in them.

The problem therein lies with the fact that the smaller bass are competing with larger bass for food. Likewise, a short bass produces short bass. If you want a case-in-point scenario, look at the conservation methods developed by FL and TX.