Crappie fair using minnows and jigs 

Largemouth Bass are spawning in the shallow water and are moving to the rocky points using top water baits and jigs

White Bass good using live crawfish

Surface temperature: Most places on the lake it is in the mid 70’s. There is a 1-2 degree drop until the 30 foot level where it drops 5 degrees or so. It looks like the thermocline is starting to form there. This will fluctuate and change with the lake dropping.

VISIBILTY- With the lake dropping the visibility tends to murk up a little. However, most divers are reporting good visibility from 10 to 15 feet at most places.

Sunday June 13^th- There is still 15 foot or so of brush in the lake since the lake is still high. Most of the fish are hanging just below this brush line on the old shore line. Not much change from last report on the actual fishing. It has been great this last few weeks. The walleye bite has really turned on.

BASS PATTERNS- a few changes but not much since last report. Top water, night crawlers, crank baits and jig-n-frog at night seem to dominate the patterns.

1. TOP WATER LURES- Just about anything top water is working. Zoom Flukes, Zara Spooks, shallow running rebels just to name a few. There is a good top water bite early in the morning and late in the day. The bass are chasing shad off of the main lake points and around those standing trees.

2. Live night crawlers with a small split shot in 15 to 25 feet of water is producing all species of bass.

3. Crawfish or green colored tube tubes dragged on the gravel flats is producing some good Smallmouth Bass. These fish are mostly in 20 to 35 feet of water on the gravel rounded points and flats.

4. Other plastic baits such as meatheads, French fry worms, and 4 inch worms. The basic green or brown colors will work. These are Carolina rigged with a 2 to 4 foot drop had fished in 15 to 25 feet of water.

5. Spinner baits- Slow rolling over the brush has produced several fish the past few weeks. Mostly Chartreuse colors.

6. Crank baits- any bluegill, shad, or sunfish crank bait fished over the brush in 5 to 15 feet of water is producing bass.

Night bass fishing has been real good on darker colored jig-n-frog in 15 to 25 feet of water.

WALLEYE- The walleye bite is on. The night crawler with a split shot or crawler harness in 15 to 25 feet of water is one of the best patterns. They are using shallow running stick baits- mostly rogues- in various depths depending on what type of structure you are fishing. The best colors are chartreuse, yellow, bluegill, perch or purple. They are also catching lots of walleye trolling deep diving crank baits and deep diving stick baits during the day. The walleye are shallow during the early morning and afternoon. They are deeper in the day so deeper diving baits are necessary.

WHITE BASS- not much reported except under lights at night with minnows in 20 to 35 feet of water.

CRAPPIE- same thing as the white bass.

CATFISH- The catfish are doing well on jug lines, trot lines and limb lines. We have seen several good catches and stringers. Most of the fish are in shallow water and being caught on the same bait- perch, dead shad, liver, stink bait, ect.

White River- Fishing has been good. All of our guides are reporting good catches and activity. Same baits as always- worms, salmon eggs, power bait, night crawlers, corn, for live bait. Rapalas, spoons, spinners for artificial.

TILL NEXT TIME- MAY YOUR FISHING LINE BE TIGHT AND YOUR FISHING ROD BE BENT!
 

June 14, 2004
The week started off with sunny skies and light winds with temperatures in the mid to upper 80’s. Then over the weekend some storms blew in and dropped over 3" of rain on us. The lake level is at 668.76 – eight feet of water has been pulled out of the lake in the last 12 days. The trout in the White River just love the current flow but the bass and walleye in the lake are not very happy with the current pull and the bite has really slowed down this week. Lake temperature is in the low 80’s up above Lead Hill and 77 to 78 degrees throughout the rest of the lake. At 25 feet down, the temperature this weeks is up to 68 degrees. Once the pull down of the pool is completed the lake will develop a thermocline and we will know where the game fish are holding. 

White Bass are now in the middle of the creeks over the channel swings under schools of shad. They are starting to react to spoons fished vertically down through them. They are holding in 40 to 60 feet of water and silver or white spoons are the best colors. Crappie were still slow this week although more shallow brush piles are now holding crappie than last week. Crappie minnows are still the best bait to use with chartreuse or pink jig heads.

Largemouth bass are still hard to find as they are scattered because of the pool pull down. Receding water has pulled the largemouth off the banks and they are trying to find ambush areas to hold on. Watersheds, point drop offs, underwater humps and docks are a few areas where the largemouth will take up residence for the summer. Best baits at this time are Spider Jigs, tubes, Carolina rigged finesse worms or brush hogs. 

Smallmouth bass have been positioning themselves throughout the week on chunk rock channel swing points and pea rock points that have deep water close by. The quality smallies are in 28 to 32 feet of water feeding on some shad but mainly feeding on crawdads. Spider Jigs and tubes are working the best early in the morning and in the late afternoon until dark. On bluebird days Mojo rigged centipede and finesse worms will trigger more bites than the jigs or tubes.

Kentucky bass are the only bass that are still pushing shad to the top where we can catch them on top water. Keep a Chug Bug or Pop R tied on just in case a school comes up around you. Other patterns that are working are Mojo rigs with centipedes or Spider Jigs around chunk rock points and banks.

NIGHT TIME UPDATE: Walleye are foraging for food in 15 to 20 feet of water at night. Suspended Rogues in clown color or Lucky Craft American Shad Pointer 78 DD are the best lures. Bass are being caught in brush piles and around points. Best baits are pig and jigs (blue/black or junebug) and Texas rigged worms (strawberry gold flake or black neon).

Walleye remain very active around points in the mid-lake and lower lake areas. Up lake they are on the feeding flats and channel swings above Lead Hill. For this time of the year these walleye are staying very close to the banks. They should be out in 35 to 45 feet of water but they are in 20 to 35 feet of water. Best baits continue to be crawler harnesses or split shot rigged nightcrawlers. The trollers are doing well with Bill Norman DD22 and DD14 along with Reef Runners and Mann’s Stretch 20+. As the lake warms up we should see a spoon bite starting on the drop offs around the feeding flats.

Well is it almost time - the Professional Walleye Trail will be here June 23, 24, 25th. The weigh ins will be held at Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock. Plan to join in the fun and festivities and welcome them as the anglers bring in their daily catch.

Trout fishing on the White River has been a little tough for the Power Bait bite because of the generation, however, Power Eggs in yellow is still the best if you can find a quiet area along with Red Worms. Buoyant Spoons, Rooster Tails and Mepps have also been working when the generation is on. The fly fishermen have also had a hard time because of the generation but are doing well on olive or black Woolly Buggers, peach egg patterns and San Juan worms. Browns are being caught on Suspending Rogues, Flat Fish, Shad Raps, Rebel jointed minnows and nightcrawlers