Bill Babler Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 I have to tell you that I am currently just about baffled. It is harder than hard for me. On my trip this morning out of Baxter we had 8 total fish with 2 pretty nice keeps, and I would not have had them had Pete Wenners not told me a trick. Beck guided out of Baxter yesterday and told me not to fish Campbell Point to Point 16 as it was just to hard. I really had no chose as my folks were staying in the back of the little Indian. Surface temps at the H hwy ramp were 76.9 at 6 AM and the water is kind of a brown green with visibility at maybe 4'. I had been catching quite a few little fish on a tube down by the dam, but these guys up here would have nothing to do with it. Saw a guy in a nice Stratos catching some topwater fish in the Big Indian, but he did not look like he was ripping them and did not want to encroach so I just fished mostly a crankbait-jig and tube. I did throw the underspin that I have been having luck with on the lower end and they were not having it. Caught 6 on the tube, with my lady in the back of the boat catching everyone of them. All short SM, she was just dragging it behind the boat. My crankbait thrower narry had a nip, on the cranker or the underspin or the jig. Called Pete about 8:30 and he said he had been on just a wonderful wart bite at the dam, on transition stuff. Said they just ate it up from 6 just before daylight to about 7:30 and he had only had one bite since. At that time he also told me he had very hard fishing in the area I was fishing 2 days prior and that he had to move clear to Kimberling City to get any kind of a bite. Said he thought If I hit some of the deeper docks with a flutter spoon I might be able to salvage the morning. Low and behold, the first dock we hit, Gary had 2 solid keepers both quality LM close to 3 pounds off the dock ends. Champ would be as proud as a speckled pup just knowing I caught them off a dock like that. Trouble was we hit 8 docks and that was the only two we captured. Also heard word of some suspended fish out deep, off the ends, suspended anywhere from 15' to 25' over bottomless. Pretty tough for this country boy. Also spoke with a couple of really nice folks at the ramp. One guy caught a short on his first cast of the day and nothing the rest of the morning. A really nice guy and lady said this was there second day of no fish. I suggested they try the gills, but he said he had paid 75 grand for his new Ranger to catch bass. Good Luck Champ188, 5bites and magicwormman 3 http://whiteriveroutfitters.com http://whiteriverlodgebb.com
rps Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 Some days are like that. For me, I shake my head and go to the house. Can't imagine what I would say to a client.
fishinwrench Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 Some days are like that. For me, I shake my head and go to the house. Can't imagine what I would say to a client. you just tell them that biologists say there isn't enough oxygen in the water and the fish are too busy gasping to chase food. Mofloatjunkie 1
kdc Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 Thanks for the report Bill thought it was just me having trouble catching them. Fished lower James today from 12 to 430 had two keeper smallmouth on tube caught 6 or 7 on ned but none bigger than 12" all fish caught in 10 to 20 foot on chunck rook banks water temp 78 to 80
Duck Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 Fished from Emerald Beach down towards the Kings on Tuesday and found a deep dock with surfacing spots, caught 13 with 3 keeper size all on Champs WE spinnerbait in mouse. It will get better.Fog really hampered our movement. Good fishin, Duck. Champ188 1
176champion Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 Fished Campbell point this afternoon, got there about 12ish and fished till about 4:30 fish where holding deep, but we caught about 7 total and 1 keeper and 1 medium sized softshell turtle..water was 80 degrees there. I know everything about nothing and know nothing about everything! Bruce Philips
Members Austin Lowrey Posted August 29, 2015 Members Posted August 29, 2015 Tuff for sure, I had about the same luck as everybody else today. If it wasn't for o'ned I would have busted.
Hunter75 Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 sounds tough, my In-laws recently relocated their houseboat to campbell point and we have spent every weekend the last month and half up there. I'm new to that part of the lake so I have just been experimenting and a lot of graphing. To my surprise I have been having great luck from the Shell Knob bridge all the way to point 19. Catching mainly K's with a few LM mixed in. Most are coming on spoons around docks. Underspin with a 4" swimming fluke has been workng as well around the docks. Deep diving cranks on deep points with timber suspended in 20-25 FOW over 40+ FOW have also produced some nice K's. Most surprising bite has been the topwater. I have been throwing a redfin or popper in any open dock stall I come across and the Kentuckies have been crushing it. Weirdest summer pattern, if you can call it a pattern, I have ever seen. I gave been graphing massive balls of shad everywhere in the campbell point area. While sitting on the houseboat in the stall the kentuckies will boil 2-3 times every hour and leave a massacre of dead shad floating around. most fish caught have been in the 13"-15" range but have managed some really nice K's. Champ188, 5bites and magicwormman 3
Champ188 Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 Bill, hate to hear you got handcuffed like that. When a guide tells me we need to go to a certain part of the lake, I'm going to try and beat him there. I don't understand why you would hire one and not let him do his job. Glad to hear you got close enough to a dock to catch a couple. And hopefully you didn't leave any spinnerbaits hanging from weather vanes. LOL I think Hunter's topwater bite may be tied to the biologist's info that the fish are in the upper 20 feet of the water column ... shallow enough to see and come up for that topwater. You guys keep banging on them. I'm about to leave the house to go play in the first round of our two-day Bella Vista men's club championship golf derby. After that, the Ranger's gonna have Table Rock water on the bottom of it very soon. magicwormman 1
magicwormman Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 It has been totally dead on the James between pt. 11 and 15 for us. My opinion is that we have some sick fish in the river systems. I have a friend down for 2 weeks and I finally had to let him use my slip in Kimberling City, so we could catch a few fish. The bite is much better between pt. 9 and the dam for us. We've been catching them shallow on SB early and dropshot in 25-30 feet of water as the day goes on. There has been some topwater early, but doesn't last long. Champ188 1
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