Catfish fair on fresh shad

Hybrids No Report

Bass good on jig and pig in coves.

Carp No Report

July 26, 2004
When is the last time you remember wearing a jacket at the end of July? A major cold front pushed in at the end of the week dropping daytime temperatures into the 60's with a cold rain. It was a nice break from the summer heat but it is a shocker for the fish. Water temperature was not affected by the cold front and surface temperature remains in the mid 80's. The thermocline has set up at 35 feet and most of the game fish are just above the temperature break. Lake level this week is at 657.16, which is 3 feet above normal pool, hopefully with the rains we will stay there for a while. Crappie are biting early in the mornings and on floating lights at night around brush piles in 25+ feet of water or the standing trees along the bluff walls. Best baits are crappie minnows, Swimming Minnows and crappie tubes. White bass are now active on spoons in 40 to 55 feet of water at the entrances of the pockets in the creek arms and around the main lake. The shad have dropped into thermocline, which enables the Whites to feed on them in the their temperature range.

Largemouth bass are still spotty during the day light hours. A few are being caught on jigs or Berkley worms around docks and brush piles, but the big surprise this week was some of the suspended largemouth reacting to slow rolling spinnerbaits on points and in the back of the creeks. This reaction bite is taking place early in the mornings while they are feeding on shad. 

Smallmouth bass have gone deep and are under ledges at the entrance of the cuts and pockets throughout the lake. Fish tube baits, Spider Jigs or drop shot baits down the bank for best results. The bite is slow so work the area over thoroughly before moving on. 

Kentucky bass have also been spotty but the reason is that they are traveling in schools in search of shad, so you need to do some graphing to find them. Once a school is marked, drop a spoon (white or silver) or a drop shot rig down to them. For live bait anglers a nightcrawler or shiner on a split shot rig will also trigger some bites.

Walleye are now on the bottom at 35 feet off points and the deep side of feeding flats. Bottom bouncers are working with crawler harnesses or leech harnesses in the mornings and early evening. There are walleye suspended at 35 feet over deeper water out in front of points and flats and these fish can be caught with lead core line pulling Rapalas Glass Shad, Reef Runners and Bill Norman lures at 1.5 to 1.7 mph. Keep your bait over the top of the walleye because they feed upward and will not go down after a bait.

NIGHT FISHING UPDATE: The bite is the best from sundown until midnight on points and chunk rock baits. Best baits are jig and pigs, tubes, 8 to 10" worms and brush hogs all in brown or blue/black colors.

Trout fishing on the White River has been good on Power Bait in yellow and white, Power Wigglers, Gulp Earthworms, salmon eggs and Belgian red worms. Buoyant Spoons, Mepps and Rooster Tails have been working when the generation is on. The fly fishermen have done well on olive and black Woolly Buggers, peach egg pattern, scuds, sow bugs and San Juan worms. Browns are being caught on Floating Original Rapalas, Countdowns, Rebel Floating Minnows and nightcrawlers.

Crappie- No Report

Catfish -No Report

Bass No Report

Crappie fair small minnows on main lake

Bass fair topwater in morning .

Bluegill good on crickets

Catfish good on nightcrawlers

According to AmerenUE the current lake level is 659.62 and the water temperature taken at Bagnell Dam is 79 degrees. Heavy generation is scheduled for the next three days, which according to AmerenUE should give the lake a level of 659.7 by Friday, July 30th. The lake is slightly stained from the recent rains and discharge from Truman Lake making visibility 3 to 6 feet in the Osage River and 6 to 10 feet in the Grand Glaize, Big and Little Niangua and Gravois Rivers.

LARGEMOUTH BASS - GOOD With the recent rains and heavy generation, there are large concentrations of shad suspended 18 to 25 feet off main lake and major secondary points drawing some largemouth to those locations. During the day working deep diving crankbaits (shad colored) have been producing some nice largemouth. Melton Jigs (white and green pumpkin/brown) and Texas rigged 7 and 10 inch plastic worm with 5/16 and 3/8 ounce slip sinkers (red shad, tequila sunrise) hopped off the bottom is producing some nice keepers. The largemouth are hitting the jig and plastic worm on the fall, but the key is the shad concentration and brush is not a factor. Night fishing continues to be the best time to catch a good limit of largemouth and to avoid the heavy boat traffic. During the night the largemouth are moving somewhat shallower, 10 to 15 feet, into the brush piles around boat docks on the main lake and in the creeks. 7 and 10 inch plastic worms (blue fleck, tequila sunrise and June bug) and the Melton jig (black and/or black/blue) seem to be the best baits and colors. The main thing is to work the baits slow and concentrate on the feel of the bait because the largemouth are just picking the bait up and swimming toward the boat. Most bites are undetectable and the only hint of a bite is something feels different with the bait . The twin tail Chomper (black/blue and dark melon pepper) on a 3/8 ounce head is also producing on the same type of structure. Pitching or flipping with the same baits behind docks with brush is producing some keepers later in the evening and early morning before daylight.

SPOTTED BASS (KENTUCKY) - SLOW There hasn't been many spots caught and the one that are have been coming off the windy main lake wave breakers and larger docks. The bite has been working Flukes, gitzits and medium diving crankbaits (shad colors and crawdad colors) around the flotation. Small live crawdads without weight worked around the flotation is producing as well.

WHITE BASS/HYBRIDS - FAIR The whites and hybrids are concentrated off the main lake points and flats 20 to 25 feet feeding on the shad. The most consistent and reliable method is trolling deep diving crankbaits (shad colored) and spoons off the points and flats.

CATFISH - GOOD The best method for catching large flatheads, blues and channels is baiting jugs, limb lines and trot lines with cut shad, perch, crawdads and large shiners on or near main lake bluffs and pockets. Tight lining from the bank with nightcrawlers, stinkbait, perch, liver and cut shad off chunk rock points and chunk rock banks in the coves, 12 to 18 feet, is producing also.

BLUEGILL - EXCELLENT The bluegill are hanging around the boat docks and sea walls anywhere from 3 to 5 feet, early in the morning and late afternoon. Once the sun get up, the bluegill drop down out of sight in 8 to 10 feet of water. Nightcrawlers, red wigglers, wax worms (grubs) and crickets are the best baits.

Date: 7/29/04
Lake Level : 608.43
Last Weeks Lake Level: 609.74
Normal Lake Level : 606
Water Condition: Clear
Surface Water Temp: 80 degrees

Bass fishing continues to be tough. Carolina rigged plastics have been the best, worked near heavy cover or drop offs near the channel, anywhere from 2 to 8 feet deep.

Catfishing has been fair. Channel cats continue to bite, with the best action still taking place up the rivers and creeks. Rod and reel fishermen are reporting catching them using nightcrawlers, shad guts or crawfish. Flathead activity seems to be picking up, with a few being caught on trotlines using goldfish.

Flathead slow

Largemouth Bass fair

Stripers slow

Crappie slow

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool:  Temperature:   

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 839.0 Temperature: 82 and Cloudy

Inflow: 35 cfs Outflow: 100 cfs Level: 0.61 feet high

Lindley arm: fair-good

White bass evening fishing is best on windy points, using Rooster Tails.

Crappie Fish about 10 feet deep at night with light using minnows

Catfish use trotline baited with stink bait or perch

Pomme Arm

Black bass use deep finesse approach 20 feet off points fish off bluffs use soft plastics .

Lower lake

Crappie use minnows and fish 20-25 feet deep along the timber

Black bass deep crankbaits in 15-20 feet of water around the mouths of coves.

Catfish bait trotlines or rod reel with cut shad on mud flats

Temperature: 82 Clarity:  Level: high and dingy

Largemouth Bass fair using spinner baits

Channel Cat  good using cut bait and nightcrawlers at night

Blue cat No Report

Bluegill fair using worms

Crappie fair

Water Temp: 75

Crappie fair using jigs and minnows in the brush piles

Blue Catfish good using night crawlers

Channel Catfish  good using night crawlers and stinkbait

Largemouth Bass  fair using plastic worms

Bluegill good using night crawlers

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 864.2  Temperature: 73 to 76

Inflow: 15 cfs Outflow: 500 cfs Level: 0.71 feet high

Water Temp:73 to 76 degrees

CRAPPIE: Good: Summer patterns are here and the crappie will probably not change much the rest of the summer. You can pick you favorite type of fishing. Brush piles on the main lake in about 14' to 16' of water are producing. You can also catch fish 6' to 12' deep in trees in 20' to 30' of water. Minnows are working best but a purple and chartreuse jig will also work.

BASS: Poor: There seems to be a topwater bite if you are in the right place at the right time. Since the water is warming up the fish seem to be moving into the grass more. A variety of baits are working depending on where you are fishing. You can fish soft jerk baits on top of the grass or drop a worm in front of the grass. The grass is primarily on the main lake but is also extending up both arms of the lake quite a ways. Thursday evenings still are tough. Fishing in 8' to 10' of water is considered deep and is probably the max depth to try. (SEE TOURNAMENT RESULTS THURSDAY or WEEKENDS)

CATFISH: Good Most of the catfish have probably already spawned and are feeding up now. Some nice flatheads are starting to be caught on trotlines as well as channels and blues. A variety of baits will work depending on the way you like to fish. Fish in 10' of water or less along the flats but near the creek channels.

White Bass: Fair: The whites are showing up on main lake points in the evenings and mornings. If you are in the right spot when the fish start busting shad you can have some fun. The fish are also on the old Trimble dam and some of the main lake humps. The face of the dam is also starting to produce some whites especially on windy days. Use pepper spoons and vertical jig for them. You can also troll small crank baits around the main lake points.

WALLEYE: Fair to Good: Some nice walleye are being taken on the main lake using crawlers and leeches on a jig head. You can also fish points in the Trimble area or up Camp branch and catch larger fish. You can also troll or cast a #5 or #7 shad rap around main lake points. Stay in 4' to 10' of water most of the time. This should be the pattern for the rest of the summer.

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 867.7 Temperature: 80

Inflow: 140 cfs Outflow: 908 cfs Level: 1.42 feet high

Black bass fair early morning buzzbaits and plastic baits off deep points

White bass fair early and late on topwater lures and Rooster Tails mid-day

Walleye fair drifting nightcrawlers

Crappie fair on jigs and minnows around trees 20 feet deep

Catfish fair using nightcrawler and shad on trotlines,

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 915.0 Temperature: 79 - 85

Release Rate: 5943 cfs. Level: 2.01 feet high

WATER LEVEL - 916.48 Normal Pool 915'

JAMES RIVER Upper 79-85

MAIN LAKE 79-83

Water temp is finally start to warm up after staying in the high 70's (77-80) for the past month, due to below normal temperatures. Lots of water running through the lakes from the heavy rainfalls & high lake levels , this should trigger the fish to group up better on the main lake points and as the water levels drop, the fish will get on the humps and drops in the river arms better as well

James River, Kings River, Upper White & Long Creek,

Kentucky's are starting to group up again on main river gravel humps and points in 18'-25-, and can be caught in !/2 & 3/4 oz. football jigs still seem to be producing best, with deep water close by, Try Carolina rigged Chompers, 4" finesse worms drop-shorted. As water levels continue to drop use some deep cranking baits should start working better such as DD-22's, Fat Free Shads. & Dt-16's in shad patterns. In the heat of the day try going way up the James or Flat Creek and the other river arms and fish the channel swings with 1/4 oz jigs in brown or black or Texas Rigged 7"-9" worms or Team Supreme Tournament French fries, Brush hogs, or lizards in green pumpkin, watermelon, or pumpkin colors. Watch for the shad activity on the flats in the same area, if shad are on the flats throw small crankbaits in 3'-6' running depths around the shad and any cover on the flats such as stumps, lay downs, & brush piles. Some fish are being caught on spinnerbaits and buzzbaits early in the upper river arms around lay downs and bushes. In the Mid river the drop shot bite has slowed down, but should pick up when the weather stabilizes.

Main Lake-Kimberling City, Baxter, Campbell Point and Dam Areas

Fish long gradual sloping main lake points in 30'-40' with drop shot worms. Some of the fish are on bottom and some suspended off bottom. The key seems to be finding a point with lots of bait fish , we are catching fish suspended around 25'-35' over 50'-80' on top of submerged timber. This should get better as the water warms up more. These areas have been real tough for me this past week, the bait fish are the key. Find the shad and you'll find the fish. Also try drop shotting 3"-4" grubs or chrome or white jigging spoons in the same areas. Good Luck!!

Back to Top

Temperature:  Level:

GENERAL COMMENTS

Water Conditions: Generation pretty much the same as it has been for the past few weeks. On early in the morning - 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and off late, around midnight each week day. This week has been a little different in that that did not turn the generation off at all Monday or Tuesday nights. This past weekend we had one generator on for about four hours, from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Although the weather has been very cool, they are bringing Beaver down so this is probably impacting the flow on Table Rock. Once the weather heats back up, we will probably continue to see this pattern during the hot weather.

FLY FISHING TROPHY AREA (dam to Fall Creek)-SHALLOW WATER-WADING-
Last week continued to have some tough days. Trips were catching fish, but they really had to work for them. Saturday and Sunday seemed to turn the tide. Fished Saturday with one generator and caught fish on the red midge and the rust zebra. After the water was off for a little while, the fish started coming up and we each had a 30-40 fish afternoon on soft hackles and crackle backs. Best crackle back was the holographic green in a size 14. Soft hackles were partridge and orange and the dark olive. Sunday was another good day. Size 18 Lil Easy, and a holographic silver crackle back were our best flies. In the late afternoon I fished the crackle back in about 1-2 feet of water. Cast straight downstream as far as I could and retrieved with a strip-strip, then pause action. In that shallow of water, the strikes were explosive. Several times I would have a strike and miss it but kept the fly in action and get another take. Several nicer, 16-18 inch Rainbows caught this way. Also caught a couple 13-14 inch Browns. Yesterday, one of our boats caught a beautiful 21 inch Brown on the red tunghead midge. Fish are hitting much better than last week during the high water. Reports from some of our customers that they were doing very well in the Hatchery area with Renegades, size 14 over the weekend. Also know that crackle backs were working well in this area, bright colors, sizes 12 or 14. When the water is up and you don't have a boat the chute areas will probably be your best bets. Scuds, sow bugs and San Juan worms are good choices for the chute area.

STAN'S TIP: Seeing lots of nasty sunburns! Keep putting on that sun lotion while you are on the water. Also, don't forget to drinks lots of water. Standing in the cold water sometimes makes you misjudge how burnt or dehydrated you are getting.

Back to Top

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 722.00 Clarity:  Level:

Temperature: 78 and Dingy

Crappie slow

Bass slow

Channel cat good on setlines

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 706.0 Temperature:  78

Inflow: 27000 cfs Outflow: 19542 cfs Level: 3.36 feet high

How about that rain. 2 1/2" on Sat. Sure put a damper on things. The crappie were starting to pick up real good and bang here we go again. The lake is on a pretty good rise right now, and the water that was getting good color will probably get dirty again. The COE has started running water again so the white and hybrid fishing should start picking up.

LAKE LEVEL: 709.35

WATER TEMP: 78 deg.

BASS: As much as I hate to put this on the net, Emil Tally and Mike Maedugall took the honors in the Hawg fights last night with a 12 lb. stringer of fish. Must of been all Mike. 2nd went to Crist Fanning and Terry Close with 7lb. and 3rd to Doug and Ozzie Wallace with 6.58 lbs. With the lake coming up the bass fishing is improving. Best bite now is the summer pattern with a lot or fish suspending at about 6' of water. Black and blue jigs were the winning bait last night. Points are the place to look. Concentrate on the hedge trees. If the jig won't work try a big worm in either red shad or Strawberry. The top water bite is still going early and late. With the lake coming up don't pass up any flooded grass or willow bushes.

CRAPPIE: Lots of 9 to 10 inch crappie being caught along the bluffs in the deeper water. Fish for these crappie 13 to 16 ft. Usually these fish will be in big schools. For the bigger crappie you need to go to the upper arms and fish the flats in 10 to 13 ft. of water, fishing about 6 to 8 ft. Minnows are the best bait for fishing the flats. A person might use crappie niblets with a minnow in the dirtier water. The upper arms offer several variations of water color. The water temp has cooled down with the large rains the past week, and this has slowed down the bite. We are looking at warm weather the rest of the week, which will warm the water back up and increase the bite.

White bass: Look for the shad on the surface, and you should find the whites. But, in some places there will be shad everywhere. The whites have slowed down the first part of this week due to rising water and cooler surface temp. In some areas of the lake you will find shad hugging the bottom, and this is the place to start searching for whites. Bottom feeding whites are always easier to catch, than moving schools on the surface. As the week gets towards the week end the temp should be up again in the 80's and the surface feeding will increase greatly. The best bite will be early in the morning, and late in the afternoon until dark. Various baits such as the roadrunner,spoons,popR's, sassy shads, and Johnson silver minnow spoons, are all producing fish. Easy limits should be seen over the week end.

Hybrids: The ever exclusive hybrid. These monsters of the deep have changed their game plan over the last couple of weeks, and decided to roam and not bite. However, if you spend the time on the water you will find them. Once you have located them, make long casts towards their location. Heavy boat traffic, and people trolling have made these big fish very spooky. You may find large schools hugging the bottom. After catching one, the bite may be over in that spot. I have found that problem time and time again this time of the year. If you find them early in the morning or late in the evening, you will increase your odds of catching more than one of the big ones. Various colors of large sassy shads on heavy jig heads is the best bait. Once you have found these fish, turning off your electronics will help you from spooking these fish.

The bite is slow right now, but by the week end if we get a couple of hot days.

CATFISH: Cut bait on trot lines set in 15' of water about 6' down on the flats seems to be the best bite going.

This weeks rankings from Sterett Creek are:

Bass: # 1

Crappie # 2

Whites & Hybrids: # 3

Till next week from Sterett Creek Marina

Tommy

Lake temp: 78

White Bass  No Report

Crappie fair using minnows

Bluegill good using crickets and nightcrawlers

Catfish fair using nightcrawlers and live baits