- Joined
- Sep 6, 2012
- Location
- Shell Knob, MO. USA
Just typing in on my first post here other than the welcome page. I thought I'd just talk a little about fishing an Ozarks highland lake in the fall. I've been here on t rock for 21 years. I actually settled here because the beauty of the lake and the overall quality of the fishery, its beyond awesome.
September is a key month to fish here after the fish go deep in June after the spawn. I wait all summer for the cool down and the change in bass activity etc. The bass start to school shad up into the back stretches of some key coves and creeks. This is a great time to put your big spinnerbaits to work on these schoolies! I can remember one key creek on James river- I'd be there by 10A and just float around in the back end and watch and wait for the shad to get pushed back in. It would start with just a few bass tearing into the bait. If you were ready, just throw in and catch a couple of average 15" keepers. Then after about a 1/2 hr or so, it would kick off again. Only, more shad and more, bigger bass!. By 2:30, I could catch about 18 to 22 fish, all over 3lbs. Nothing really big. Maybe one or two close to 4lbs. But what an awesome feeding frenzy. I went back 2 more time that month and Wow! same thing. All to myself. just sitting in the same 3 ft of water all day! Since then, every September, I look for the same pattern in the other main feeder rivers as well- Kings river and Long Creek. Sometimes it was early Nov. I look for the bigger schools of shad in the bigger creeks and coves. If you find the bait, just wait!
Then comes October. Seems like clockwork every year, by the 1st weekend of October, The bass shut down. At least up shallow. What happens is, the thermocline starts to break up and the fish litterally scatter. They have been found shallow to 90 ft deep + near the dam and deep channels, deep flats. It becomes very difficult to adjust as the bigger bags of fish seem to come from 50 ft and deeper. Not my strong point. I usually prefer to rough it out with a crankbait looking for leftovers, rather than sit still dropping 1/4 oz finese gigs down to 55 ft. I do however manage to save the day when cranking is slow, by fishing jigging spoons and tail spinners in deep water using my locator diligently.
Then comes November and early December. Seems to be the best time of the year for me and my style of fishing. This is when I usually tend to shine in tournaments. The bass seem to get more active back up in shallow cooler waters.
Any comments about T Rock or or your favorite midwest lakes , I'd like to here about them and compare notes. Especially about the breakup of the thermocline and fish behavior. And your patterns etc.
Tight Lines.
184SCR
September is a key month to fish here after the fish go deep in June after the spawn. I wait all summer for the cool down and the change in bass activity etc. The bass start to school shad up into the back stretches of some key coves and creeks. This is a great time to put your big spinnerbaits to work on these schoolies! I can remember one key creek on James river- I'd be there by 10A and just float around in the back end and watch and wait for the shad to get pushed back in. It would start with just a few bass tearing into the bait. If you were ready, just throw in and catch a couple of average 15" keepers. Then after about a 1/2 hr or so, it would kick off again. Only, more shad and more, bigger bass!. By 2:30, I could catch about 18 to 22 fish, all over 3lbs. Nothing really big. Maybe one or two close to 4lbs. But what an awesome feeding frenzy. I went back 2 more time that month and Wow! same thing. All to myself. just sitting in the same 3 ft of water all day! Since then, every September, I look for the same pattern in the other main feeder rivers as well- Kings river and Long Creek. Sometimes it was early Nov. I look for the bigger schools of shad in the bigger creeks and coves. If you find the bait, just wait!
Then comes October. Seems like clockwork every year, by the 1st weekend of October, The bass shut down. At least up shallow. What happens is, the thermocline starts to break up and the fish litterally scatter. They have been found shallow to 90 ft deep + near the dam and deep channels, deep flats. It becomes very difficult to adjust as the bigger bags of fish seem to come from 50 ft and deeper. Not my strong point. I usually prefer to rough it out with a crankbait looking for leftovers, rather than sit still dropping 1/4 oz finese gigs down to 55 ft. I do however manage to save the day when cranking is slow, by fishing jigging spoons and tail spinners in deep water using my locator diligently.
Then comes November and early December. Seems to be the best time of the year for me and my style of fishing. This is when I usually tend to shine in tournaments. The bass seem to get more active back up in shallow cooler waters.
Any comments about T Rock or or your favorite midwest lakes , I'd like to here about them and compare notes. Especially about the breakup of the thermocline and fish behavior. And your patterns etc.
Tight Lines.
184SCR