Table Rock Lake Current Fishing Report Cow Creek to Kimberling City

[Steve McBasser]

Wow..... great catching Bill. Maybe its just the latest and greatest technology on the newest fish finders, we can see alot better down there than we used to. .... but it seems to me we are catching them deeper every year. Used to, I thought 40' was deep. Now it seems like you have to go to 60 or 70' to get a consistant bite going. You can catch a few scattered fish in the 35-50 foot range but the bigger and more active schools are much deeper..... What's your take?

[Champ188]

32 minutes ago, Steve McBasser said:

 Used to, I thought 40' was deep. Now it seems like you have to go to 60 or 70' to get a consistant bite going. You can catch a few scattered fish in the 35-50 foot range but the bigger and more active schools are much deeper....

You can choose to fish that deep and more power to those who do, but there isn't a single day out of the year that it's necessary to fish deeper than 20 feet to catch bass consistently.

That's the beauty of Table Rock ---- there are always several different ways to catch them at the same hour of the same day. It's all a matter of how badly a guy wants to learn to effectively fish deep, shallow or in between. 

[Steve McBasser]

I agree 100% Champ..... We always go for the shallow... and "inbetween" bite first. And, we seem to always find a few bass that want to play. But...... if you can find them clustered up deep and get them fired up, you can catch multiple fish sitting in one spot and its a ball. I'm looking for the deep fish just because I thinks its cool to catch them that deep. Last trip we caught some shallow on the ned rig and a jerk bait. Maybe 5-10' deep. But we also caught some 50-60' deep on an ice jig and a jigging spoon. I'm greedy.... I want it all. 

[Bill Babler]

Steve, we are seeing them deeper in the last 5 years, and this is simply because the bait has chosen to go that deep.  I have a Christmas morning report with some great graph shots to show, if I can get them pulled up.  I'm having a hard time.  One day I can pull them off the computer and the next day It won't give them to me.  Just don't understand it.

Again as Champ said they are shallow also, and they are a bit congregated as well.  I had 5 nice keepers yesterday off one long hog back ridge and they were all under 30' on a Pigsticker Quick 5 jig.  Just flat hammered it.

Kind of one of the strange things to me the last few years is the depth of some of these Jaw's.  As I stated I caught 2 the other day flat on the bottom 89' below a group of shad.  I have all ways fished deep, but until the last few years have not caught SM that deep.  Lots of biggins suspended and on the bottom in 50' plus.

[Donna G]

On 12/22/2019 at 9:14 PM, 96 CHAMP said:

Sounds like a real show going on there. Sometimes it’s not so much the fishing but everything else we get to see out there.

I don't deer hunt any longer, but when I did, I was that way about it.  I loved walking the woods, looking for signs of deer, seeing all the wildlife.  I'd sit in my stand for hours, happy as a lark.  I especially enjoyed deer camp.  Sitting around the fire at night, talking about the day, cooking on the Coleman stove.  We'd fry up the backstrap of the first deer, fry some taters and make gravy.  Don't want to shoot them any longer.  I just enjoy watching them now, but those were good times.

[Bill Babler]

Donna those are great memories.  We still love to watch them but also like to taste them.  Had fried back strap with mushroom gravy last night.  Also just being together with either friends or families during hunting season is so very special to me.

[magicwormman]

1 hour ago, Bill Babler said:

Donna those are great memories.  We still love to watch them but also like to taste them.  Had fried back strap with mushroom gravy last night.  Also just being together with either friends or families during hunting season is so very special to me.

I think you nailed it Bill! It's not so much anymore about the kill, as it is about the hunt! It's all about spending quality time with friends and family!