FISHING TABLE ROCK LAKE
         As I write this article I should first say that I am doing so from my view point as a guide. And I am the first to say that as a guide I usually fish differently than the average person just going fishing.  I try to use techniques that produce fish quickly and that will work for any skill level the fisherman has. The area of the lake that I concentrate most of my fishing is the Long Creek arm including the Dam area and Indian Point area. The species I target mostly are the Kentucky (Spotted ) Bass, the Smallmouth Bass, and the Largemouth Bass. If other species such as White Bass Or Walleye are biting better we can try them also.
                                                                                 SPRING
                                                                   (MARCH, APRIL, MAY)​

     As the water​​ starts warming the Bass start moving into the shallower warmer coves looking for a place to spawn. Usually the coves on the north shores that are protected from those cold north winds will warm first. Also murky water warms faster than clear. So up the creeks and rivers usually warm earlier because the water is murky from those spring rains.
     Suspending jerk baits, wiggle wart crank baits, grubs, and A-rigs are good choices in early spring.
     As the water gets into the upper 50s and lower 60s the Bass will start making beds in the backs of the coves. Gradually the beds will show up further out along the banks and toward the front of the coves.​​ Jerk baits, top water baits, grubs, mojo rigs, and crank baits are good.
     May sees the spawn slowing in the shallows but there are Bass (especially Spotted) still spawning out deeper up to about 20 feet as long as sunlight can reach the bed. A mojo rig, drop shot rig. tubes, and jigs work out deeper and top water, crank baits, spinner baits, and grubs still work shallower.
     By late may the earlier spawners have moved from the shallows and are getting on the main lake points, drop offs, and suspending around standing timber. Top water baits worked over standing timber works good for a few weeks after the spawn, and drop shot rigs work in the timber and on the points and drop offs.​​


​​​
​        

                                                                               SUMMER
                                                                  (​JUNE, JULY, AUGUST) 


     By June the Spotted Bass is the species we target the most. They are more predictable and are the largest population of Bass in this area. Smallmouth are still around too but they are not as easily caught in larger numbers.
    ​​The Spots are moving into deeper water on the points, large flats, drop offs, timber, and around deep boat docks.
    Drop shot rigs, carolina rigs,and jigs work well. And at this time we start using live night crawlers for bait. We just drop them down to the depth the fish are holding. Usually it is best to keep the night crawler a few feet above the fish. They are positioned so that it is easier for them to see above them than below. That is the reason to put the crawler above them.  That is the best way to catch Kentuckys through out the summer months. Top water baits early in the day also work at times. Also it is a good time to see White Bass surfacing in large schools so a slab spoon kept ready is good.   ​            
                                                                                     FALL
​                                                    (SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, AND NOVEMBER)



     September fishes much like the summer months. Mostly night crawlers, drop shot, and grubs in the deeper areas. Also top water​​​​ around docks and wake breaks and over timber will work.
     In October​ and November as the water begins to cool the Bass begin following the bait fish (Shad) back into the creeks. They will school up on the long points and along the creek channels. When you find a school feeding on the Shad it is possible to catch large numbers of fish. You may catch 50 to 100 fish in a short amount of time. Of course there are still fish out in the main lake and can be caught with the same techniques as up the creek. Long points and channel swings are good places to look for them.
    Slab spoons, shad colored tubes, ice baits, and drop shot rigs worked ​with a vertical technique is a very good way to catch them at this time. Even crank baits in the coves can produce very well


     ​​​                  
                                                                                   WINTER
                                                         (​DECEMBER, JANUARY, AND FEBURARY


     Winter, of course, can be a little more of a challenge. The colder water as well as the weather itself can give the Bass a bad case of lock jaw.​​​ They move to steeper banks such as bluffs along the creek channels, deep timber, and channel swings up the creeks and deep coves with a good creek channel and timber are good areas.
     A vertical presentation is the best for these deep fish. Slab spoons and ice jigs are probably the baits used the most. The Bass can be found 50 and 60 feet at this time although they can also be 20 or 25 feet deep suspended around the standing timber along the channels.
     If found suspended in the timber not only spoons, but a shad colored tube or a floating fly rig can be very good.
     In late winter a suspending jerk bait worked around cedar trees in the coves are good too. It is a very slow technique but can produce some larger fish. And late winter is the time the A-rig is starting to be ​​​​used over the timber along the bluffs, bluff ends, and anywhere shad can be found.
    As I stated earlier this is just my opinion and everybody has their own preferred techniques and areas they fish. I think that is one things that makes fishing a great sport. There is so many ways to catch fish and so many baits that work that there is no one way that is best for everybody at all times. The techniques and areas that I have mentioned above have served me well for over the last 20 years of guiding on Table Rock. Certainly things change due to weather and water conditions throughout the year so our techniques and presentations  must also change. That is one of the challenges that makes guiding interesting​.
Trying to figure out where the fish are and what it will take to make them bite​ is a daily challenge, but, being on the water over 250 days a year gives me a very good idea where and what to do throughout the changing seasons.
     I hope that someday I will have the pleasure of fishing with you. ​When you come to Table Rock give me a call. We will go catch some fish and have a great time.
​ 
OZMO FISH'N
870-391-1284
EMAIL;wefish@yahoo.com