Crappie fair using minnows and jigs 

Largemouth Bass fair in the morning using topwater baits

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 thermo cline is starting to form there. This will fluctuate and change with the lake dropping.

VISIBILITY- 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, etc..

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 21, 2004
The men and women of the Professional Walleye Trail are here and have been practicing this last week for their upcoming tournament on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of June. Weather has been a little warm for these northern anglers with highs in the upper 80’s with lots of sun. We will bring you an update of their tournament next week. Pool level this week is at 665.72, 11 ½ feet above normal. The Corp of Engineers shut down the flow on Sunday afternoon for the first time in 17 days. Lake temperature is around 80 degrees, plus or minus 2 degrees depending on where you are at. There still is not a dominant thermo cline in place, but there is a break at 27 feet with temperatures from 69 to 66 degrees, we will wait to see what happens there. Crappie were so-so this week with most of the fish caught suspended around the old brush piles in 35 to 40 feet of water. Best baits were crappie minnows and crickets.

Largemouth bass shut down and moved toward their summer haunts. Some of the walleye pros are catching largemouth on nightcrawler split shot rigs suspended over 30 feet of water off flats and points. Targeting the suspended bass is almost impossible because they are moving. Your best bet is to fish a Carolina rig or Texas rig early in the mornings up on the points with centipedes, finesse worms and brush hogs 

Smallmouth bass are tuned into that 25 to 29 foot comfort zone around secondary and main lake chunk rock and pea rock points. There is some top water action early in the morning on Zara Spook Jrs and Chug Bugs. That bite is all but over by 7 a.m. or so, then tubes and Spider jigs work the best until late morning. The bite picks up again around 3 o’clock on Mojo rigged centipedes and 4" worms on a drop shot rig. Best colors are watermelon purple, watermelon and green pumpkin on cloudy days. 

Kentucky bass are finally starting to school off cliff wall points and drop offs along the channel swings in the creeks. They are holding around 35 feet pushing shad up to the top and moving onto the shallow points or flats to feed. On top use a Pop R, Spit’N Image, Jr. or Zara Puppy in clear color to imitate swimming shad. When the Kentuckys move up onto the points and flats the best baits are nightcrawlers for the live bait anglers and tubes, Spider Jigs or finesse worms for the artificial baits.

The PWT pros have found three or four different patterns with the walleye this week. Dragging shallow points with crawler harnesses (18 to 25 feet of water) is working for them. A split shot or sinker rig with 6 feet of lead core line tipped with a crawler is also working well in 24 to 30 feet of water. The trollers are pulling Reef Runners, Hot-N-Tot Tots, Bill Norman Deep Little N’s and Mann’s 20+ stretch baits over 30 to 50 feet of water around the points for the walleye that have moved out and have suspended. It will be very interesting to see which technique wins the upcoming tournament. A full report will be reported next week.

We wish all of the PWT competitors good luck and good fishing. Weigh ins will be at the Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock starting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

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 and white is best if you can find a quiet area along with Red Worms. Buoyant Spoons, Rooster Tails, Super Dupers and Panther Martin’s 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, Countdowns, Jointed Countdowns and nightcrawlers.