Fishing Report For September 11Th. Table Rock Lake Kimberling City To Big M White River

[Bill Babler]

White River Outfitters Guide Service

After what has been somewhat of a struggle to put it mildly, the fish the last 1/2 dozen days have softened up a bit. With the PAA struggling thru the latter part of last week, and the extreme heat and boat traffic, fishing has been pretty tough.

With the movement and temperature changes the lake has seen, it is now starting to stabilize even though the surface temps are in the 84 to 87 degree range.

In the past 6 days we have reestablished a very hard thermocline at 18' to 22'. Not only is there a lot of bait in this range but the fish seem to be staying extremely close to this depth weather suspended or on the bottom.

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Smallmouth in the Kimberling City area have started to bite from first light till about 10 a.m. Most fish are being caught on a jig.

White River fish from Baxter to Big M. have slowed a bit but still can be caught on a dropshot in that same 18' depth range. This is usually unusual as the clarity of the water is such that fishing that shallow right over the top of the fish is most often not possible. The water is now of a color that you can do this. As the temperature drops and the water clears our presentations will have to change.

Early is still the key with the majority of bites coming from 0600 to 0900. A few topwater fish are starting to appear, and if you locate them they will stay in the area when that bite dies and you can target them with down presentations.

Inside major points with shelf rock have been one of my favorite locations this past week. Some timber present is never a bad thing. Keep your presentation in the above mentioned depth range as long as possible, but throwing ahead of the boat as if you working a shallow crankbait in the Spring.

It's only a matter of days now. Good Luck

[Quillback]

Some nice, chunky fish. Thanks for the report!

[jpb2187]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I was hoping some of you more experienced anglers could answer a question for me.

In the past 6 days we have reestablished a very hard thermocline at 18' to 22'. Not only is there a lot of bait in this range but the fish seem to be staying extremely close to this depth weather suspended or on the bottom.

I'm typically fishing from shore, so I don't have much experience fishing offshore and lakes with thermoclines. Basically what your saying is that you are targeting the bottom areas that are at the 18-22 foot depth range, or if they are suspended - open water areas in the 18 to 22 foot range. If I were fishing a 45degree slope, I would want to target the section of the slope that hits the desired depth, correct?

If I were dropshotting for suspended fish, would I have the weight on the bottom say 24 feet , and the hook 3-5 feet up?

Thanks for any help. I appreciate any knowledge you are willing to share.

[merc1997 Bo]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I was hoping some of you more experienced anglers could answer a question for me.

I'm typically fishing from shore, so I don't have much experience fishing offshore and lakes with thermoclines. Basically what your saying is that you are targeting the bottom areas that are at the 18-22 foot depth range, or if they are suspended - open water areas in the 18 to 22 foot range. If I were fishing a 45degree slope, I would want to target the section of the slope that hits the desired depth, correct?

If I were dropshotting for suspended fish, would I have the weight on the bottom say 24 feet , and the hook 3-5 feet up?

Thanks for any help. I appreciate any knowledge you are willing to share.

fishing from shore does present challenges. yes, you would want to concentrate your bottom efforts in the 18 to 20 foot range. as far as dealing with suspended bass, they can suspend over any depth of water. you might want to try using something hanging down from a slip bobber. in doing this, you can utilize wind and waves to move and impart action to your bait of choice to entice suspended bass.

bo