Catfish fair on fresh shad

Hybrids No Report

Bass good on jig and pig in coves.

Carp No Report

 Report by: Wilderness Trail       "Braggin Board"

FALL IN STORE SEMINAR - SEPTEMBER 25TH 2 TO 4 P.M.

CALL US AT 870-445-2703 TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATION

There is no charge, everyone is invited - but we are limited to 50 people

Dog days of summer returned this week. Warm days in the 80’s with nights in the upper 60’s and no wind. Lake temperature rose 2 degrees from 78.5 to 80 to 81 degrees throughout the lake. With the warm days the generation at the dam has picked up, which dropped the pool to 654.32, a foot down from last week and right about normal pool level, which still puts us in great shape for this time of year. The thermocline is still at about 37 feet although the temperature break dropped down to 43 feet, so the thermocline is now 6 feet wide. This makes pinpointing game fish just a little harder. Crappie have settled into the brush piles and are biting in the mornings and lake evenings. Live crappie minnows and crappie tube baits are working the best. Primary colors are pumpkinseed, chartreuse and pink. Small ¼ oz silver spoons are also taking a few crappie and Bobby Garland Swimming Minnow fished vertically down through the brush piles is also working.

Largemouth bass have not made any changes from last week, they are still suspended and roaming in and out of the shallows. Buzzbaits and Spook Jr’s or Lucky Craft Sammy’s will trigger a few strikes from dawn until around 7:30 a.m. in the back of the creeks and pockets. During the day the bite is slow, the key areas to fish are brush piles and the deep side of secondary points. Best techniques have been 7/16 oz. or football jigs, brush hogs on Carolina Rigs and vertically spooning a Binks spoon or Cotton Cordell spoon in silver. 

Smallmouth bass are deep and hard to find because they are not on the bottom, they are suspended and moving. The smallies are moving in at night and we can find some around points and on chunk rock banks in the mornings. Best baits are Spider Jigs, tubes, Carolina rigged 4" lizards and Mojo rigged finesse worms. Kentucky bass are traveling with the shad, which they have been doing all summer. 

We noticed this week that the Kentuckys were pushing the shad to the top in the mornings and if you could get a Pop R, Spit’N Image or Zara Spook Jr into them before they went back down you could trigger a strike. Graphing and looking for Kentuckys under the shad is also working, fishing a drop shot or spoon down into their zone.

Walleye are sitting in the thermocline and feeding during low light time periods. Bottom bouncers with crawler harnesses have been producing some nice walleye in 40 to 45 feet of water. Orange, chartreuse/orange and red/silver blades have been the best. Long liners that are using lead core line are catching a few on Reef Runners, Hot’N Tots, Suspending Rogues and Bill Norman DD14’s. Vertical spooning is also working outside the flats and off the points. Cover a lot of water with your trolling motor until you mark a few walleye, then drop your spoon down in front of them. This technique will trigger reaction strikes as well as feeding strikes.

NIGHT TIME UPDATE: The bite starts to pick up around 9 p.m. on the points and around brush piles. Texas rigged worms are still slow but if the bass will bite them, strawberry gold or black/blue colors are the best. Jigs remain the #1 bait in black/blue or June bug colors.

Trout fishing on the White River has been good on Power Bait in yellow and white, and Belgian red worms. Buoyant Spoons, Mepps, Blue Fox and Rooster Tails have been working when the generation is on. The fly fishermen have done well on olive Woolly Buggers, scuds, and San Juan worms. Browns are being caught on Smithwick Rogues, Countdowns, Flat Fish 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

Date: 9/09/04
Lake Level : 615.17
Last Weeks Lake Level: 618.88
Normal Lake Level : 606
Water Condition: Very Dingy to Clear.
Surface Water Temp: 73 degrees

Crappie fishing is average at best. You can expect to catch mostly small ones with the occasional keeper. Several hours of fishing can put a couple of meals in the live well. The better reports are still coming off the main lake, along tree lined bluffs. The depth has varied greatly this week, with some fishermen catching crappie no deeper than 8 feet and other catching them as deep as 20 feet. Minnows or minnow tipped jigs have been the best bait.

The few bass fishermen out have not done very good. The one I talked to said he had his best hits off of main lake points using spinner baits. Most bass fishermen have been complaining about the lake being drawn down, and the bass haven't been active.

Catfishing has slowed down on the main lake, the river below the dam is still good. Rod and reel fishermen haven't had much luck this past week. Trotliners have caught some cats, but it's still slow. It's been mostly channel cats, being caught on cut shad. Nightcrawlers, crawdads, or shad pieces.

Flathead good

Largemouth Bass good on black/blue jigs and brush hogs

Stripers slow

Crappie good

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool:  Temperature:  75.8 

Catfish time is now seen some nice ones this week 

Bass fair 

Crappie fair 

Bluegill good 

Only 14 days to bow season should be a good season remember we are in antler restriction 4 on a side at least 1 inch long so lets be careful and make good shots 

Take a kid fishing or hunting they need it

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 839.0 Temperature:

Inflow: 35 cfs Outflow: 50 cfs Level: 0.51 feet high

Lindley arm: fair-good

White bass No Report

Crappie No Report

Catfish No Report

Pomme Arm

Black bass No Report

Lower lake

Crappie No Report

Black bass No Report

Catfish No Report

Temperature: 79 Clarity:  Level: high and dingy

Largemouth Bass slow using spinner baits

Channel Cat  fair using cut bait and nightcrawlers at night

Blue cat slow

Bluegill slow using worms

Crappie slow

Water Temp: 75

Crappie slow using jigs and minnows in the brush piles

Blue Catfish slow using night crawlers

Channel Catfish  good using night crawlers, stinkbait and liver

Largemouth Bass  fair using jig and pig 

Bluegill slow using night crawlers

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 864.2  Temperature: 76 

Inflow: 20 cfs Outflow: 8 cfs Level: 0.43 feet high

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. Tree lines in 18' to 20' or water are also producing nice fish. Fish 8' to 10' deep. Minnows are more productive than jigs. Try a purple and pearl or purple and chartreuse jig.

BASS: Poor: There seems to be a topwater bite if you are in the right place at the right time. 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. (SEE TOURNAMENT RESULTS THURSDAY or WEEKENDS)

CATFISH: Good 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' to 15' 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: Poor: The walleye seem to have disappeared and have probably moved to deeper water. You can also fish points in the Trimble area or up Campbranch and catch some 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: 77

Inflow: 90 cfs Outflow: 631 cfs Level: 0.28 feet low

Black Bass fair early mornings on topwater lures, during the day on plastic baits around timber

White Bass fair trolling small crankbaits and Rooster Tails near flats

Walleye fair trolling crankbaits near flats 8-12 feet deep

Crappie fair on minnows and small grubs near tree lines

Catfish fair drifting nightcrawlers and shad

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 915.0 Temperature: 79 - 83

Release Rate: 625 cfs. Level: 1.42 feet low

Aug 24, 2004

WATER LEVEL - 917.02 Normal Pool 915'
JAMES RIVER Upper 79-83
MAIN LAKE 79-81

Main Lake Areas
The Dam and Indian Point area have been slow for me. The more you go towards Kimberling City, Baxter, or the mid James fish have been 30'-40' deep on bottom or suspended out over 40'-50' on long gravel main lake points. Try using a 4" finesse worm on drop shot rig. Watermelon candy or watermelon red seem to be working best for me. If the fish are on bottom, try using a 3/4 oz. Brown & Purple football jig tipped with purple or brown twin tailed grub. Most of the fish on the drop shot have been Kentuckys, and we are catching some small mouths on the football jig early in the morning. Try fishing 15'-20' on and just inside the main lake gravel timbered points (hardwoods) with 3/8 oz. Team Supreme brown jig tipped with twin tail grub. Some small mouths are starting to move up and feed early in the morning. This bite should get better as the water cools even more.

James River
Same patterns as above but fish are a little shallower 22'-30' on bottom or suspending over 30'-40'. There have been a lot of shad moving into the creeks, the bass should start to follow the bait. Try fishing spinnerbaits and shallow running crankbaits under and around the shad in the creeks early. As the sun comes up the shad move out to the center of the creeks, try tail spinners or chrome/ white jigging spoons at 20'-25' deep.

Long Creek
Long Creek has had lots of shad moving into the backs of Cricket Creek and Yokum Creek. I've been catching some small largemouth's on crankbaits and spinnerbaits, but with as much shad as what is back there, there should be some good fish back in there also. Just keep trying try different baits and colors to trigger the strikes, best bite has been early morning, or right before dark.

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Temperature:  Level:

Branson Trout Unlimited Meeting - September 28, 2004, 7:00 p.m. at the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery. Annual Trout Unlimited Dinner/Auction October 23, 2004, at Landry's Seafood. Sit down dinner, choices of entrees. E-mail us for more information, or give us a call 1-877-699-3474.

GENERAL COMMENTS

Water Conditions: Water off in the a.m. Monday and Tuesday this week. Generated one or more most of the weekend. Yesterday ran two in the a.m. then four later in the day. One on this morning.

FLY FISHING TROPHY AREA (dam to Fall Creek)-SHALLOW WATER-WADING-
Fishing continues to be good. Had a couple out yesterday for 1/2 day. She had very little experience fly fishing and she boated at least 20 fish. Her friend caught a beautiful 18 inch Rainbow and boated 20 or more fish. With two generators going, all our fish were caught on the size 16 red midge. Monday had another new fly fisher out. Sister treated him to a birthday trip. With the water off Monday, they were both catching lots of fish on the size 18 dark olive soft hackle. Around 11:00 a.m. they turned on one generator, followed shortly by one more. After that we drifted and fished the red size 16 midge. While the water was rising, fished the red San Juan worm and caught 6-8 in about 15 minutes. Once the second generator increased the water flow, the fish turned off the worm. Weekend fished well on the olive and/or black size 18 zebra midges. If the water is off for a period of time, the terrestrials should still be doing well. Actually have seen some caddis coming off the water every day this past week...probably size 12-14.

STAN'S TIP: If you are just getting starting setting up your fly boxes or if your flies are disorganized, think categorize. Dry flies in one box, midges in another, nymphs in another, etc. Otherwise, if you have lots of flies (and you will at some point in time) you will go through lots of boxes trying to locate the fly you want.

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Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 722.00 Clarity:  Level:

Temperature: 76 High and Muddy

Crappie fair using minnows

Bass fair using lures

Channel cat fair using prepared baits, nightcrawlers and leeches

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 706.0 Temperature:  78

Inflow: 3600 cfs Outflow: 5471 cfs Level: 0.43 feet high

Fishing Report from Sterett Creek Marina 9/8/04

Lake temp: 78

CRAPPIE: A pretty good bite going down river from Bucksaw. Around the Finey Creek area, fish are being found on flats in 11 feet of water and about 7 feet deep. The bigger hardwoods are producing the best but don't pass up any scattered cedars. Seem some good sized limits this week. You still must work for keepers, but a keeper bite seems to be paying off with better fish than earlier this summer. Jig tipped with a minnow is the preferred bait.

BASS: A tough bite right now. Jig and pig and crankbait fished in 1-4 feet of water around main lake points seems to be the only bite going right now. Down by the dam there is a fair suspended bite going on worms and jigs.

WHITES/HYBRIDS: Very sparse activity early and late on topwater. Nothing much through the day as these fish are suspended over humps. Roadrunners, 1/4oz pepper spoons and rooster tails have been working best.

CATFISH: Good bite on trotlines and jugs. Seem some real nice fish in the last week. Most being caught in 6 feet of water on main lake flats near creek channel swings with drops set at 18". Cut shad and leeches seem to work best.

Crappie fair using minnows and jigs

Bluegill good using crickets and worms

Catfish fair on trotlines and jug lines using live bait