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Copyright 1999-2004

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July 28, 2004 - Truman - Submitted by Sterett Creek - How about that rain. 2 1/2" on Sat. Sure put a damper on things. The crappie were starting to pick up real good and bang here we go again. The lake is on a pretty good rise right now, and the water that was getting good color will probably get dirty again. The COE has started running water again so the white and hybrid fishing should start picking up.
 
LAKE LEVEL:         709.35
WATER TEMP:       78 deg.
WATER CLARITY: Same old same old. Big and Little Tebo are
                                    lightly stained. The Pommies are clear. The
                                    Osage from ED's Camp to the dam is a
                                    light stain and again the upper Grand is
                                    dirty. Lower grand is stained.
 
BASS: As much as I hate to put this on the net, Emil Tally and Mike Maedugall took the honors in the Hawg fights last night with a 12 lb. stringer of fish. Must of been all Mike. 2nd went to Crist Fanning and Terry Close with 7lb. and 3rd to  Doug and Ozzie Wallace with 6.58 lbs. With the lake coming up the bass fishing is inproving. Best bite now is the summer pattern with alot or fish suspending at about 6' of water. Black and blue jigs were the winning bait last night. Points are the place to look. Concentrate on the hedge trees. If the jig won't work try a big worm in either red shad or  Strawberry. The top water bite is still going early and late. With the lake comming up don't pass up any flooded grass or willow bushes.
CRAPPIE: Lots of 9 to 10 inch crappie being caught along the bluffs in the deeper water.  Fish for these crappie 13 to 16 ft.  Usually these fish will be in big schools.  For the bigger crappie you need to go to the upper arms and fish the flats in 10 to 13 ft. of water, fishing about 6 to 8 ft.  Minnows are the best bait for fishing the flats.  A person might use crappie nibblets with a minnow in the dirtier water.  The upper arms offer several variations of water color.  The water temp has cooled down with the large rains the past week, and this has slowed down the bite.  We are looking at warm weather the rest of the week, which will warm the water back up and increase the bite.
Whitebass: Look for the shad on the surface, and you should find the whites.  But, in some places there will be shad everywhere.  The whites have slowed down the first part of this week due to rising water and cooler surface temp.  In some areas of the lake you will find shad hugging the bottom, and this is the place to start searching for whites.  Bottom feeding whites are always easier to catch, than moving schools on the surface.  As the week gets towards the week end the temp should be up again in the 80's and the surface feeding will increase greatly.  The best bite will be early in the morning, and late in the afternoon until dark.  Various baits such as the roadrunner,spoons,popR's, sassy shads, and Johnson silver minnow spoons, are all producing fish.  Easy limits should be seen over the week end.
Hybrids:  The ever elusieve hybrid.  These monsters of the deep have changed their game plan over the last couple of weeks, and decided to roam and not bite.  However, if you spend the time on the water you will find them.  Once you have located them, make long casts towards their location.  Heavy boat traffic, and people trolling have made these big fish very spooky.  You may find large schools hugging the bottom.  After catching one, the bite may be over in that spot.  I have found that problem time and time again this time of the year.  If you find them early in the morning or late in the evening, you will increase your odds of catching more than one of the big ones.  Various colors of large sassy shads on heavy jig heads is the best bait.  Once you have found these fish, turning off your electronics will help  you from spooking these fish.
  The bite is slow right now, but by the week end if we get a couple of hot days.
CATFISH: Cut bait on trot lines set in 15' of water about 6' down on the flats seems to be the best bite going.
 
This weeks rankings from Sterett Creek are:
Bass:                     # 1
Crappie                 # 2
Whites & Hybrids: # 3
 
Till next week from Sterett Creek Marina
                                    660-438-2280
                                   critter@dam.net
 
Tommy

July 22, 2004 - Truman - Submitted by Sterett Creek -  Believe it or this is the second fishing report I have done this week, it seems my computer ate one and it was probably the better one. This will be short and sweet. We were really busy working on docks Tues. night so the guys opted to cancel the hawg fights for this week. We will run them next Tues.7/27. We are  open and everything is getting back to normal, please pardon some minor construction. So with that here is your fishing report.
 
LAKE LEVEL:        707.71
WATER TEMP:      78 deg.
WATER CLARITY: Clear to stained. All arms are clear to lightly stained except the Grand which is a heavy stain but very fishable. 
 
BASS: Down on our end flat points are the place to be. Fish are still shallow, 3' to 6' of water. Big worms are the top bait in blue fleck or red shad. Early and late throw a top water in the same areas. Buzz baits along with Spooks are working. In the deeper tree rows the jig and strawberry worm are starting. Fish are suspending down about 4' in 12' to 20' of water. Summer pattern is starting.
CRAPPIE: Starting to see better numbers of fish. The crappie are starting to get on their summer patter also. Minnows fished on the outside tree rows in 15' to 20' of water down about 7' should do the trick. There are also fish being caught off the brush piles in 15' to 20' of water.
WHITES & HYBRIDS: Water flow has slowed on Truman and so has the white bass and hybrid fishing. There is still some surface activity and the 4" sassy shad is still the top producer. Check all the old humps for top water action early and late. KK being one of the hotter areas now.
CATFISH: Trot lines are still doing good. Shallow sets in 5' to 7' of water with stages set about 16" baited with mud leeches is the best bet. Seeing a few jug fish on live bait. Fish are on the flats next to deep water.
 
This weeks rankings from Sterett Creek are:
Bass:                     # 1
Crappie:                #  2
Whites & Hybrids: # 3
 
That's it for this week from Sterett Creek Marina:
                                                  660-438-2280
                                                  critter@dam.net
 
With that we bid you good fishin,
               Tommy

July 14, 2004 - Truman - Submitted by Sterett Creek - Looks like it's going to be another short one. I have come to the conclusion that the older you get the slower you get, but the work load keeps coming at the same pace. Jim and I have been going full blast along with all the staff here at Sterett Creek since the storm. Everyone here has gone to the well and gave 200% with long hours and hard labor. We are getting things put back together but it looks like it is going to take some time.  Again I would like to thank all the folks for the help and kind words and everything else, with people like you around it goes to show what a great country we live in. We are open and fully operational. Again thanks to all !!!
 
LAKE LEVEL:        708.06
WATER TEMP:       77 deg.
WATER CLARITY: All arms are clear to lightly stained with the exception of Grand River which is heavily stained from G 4 to Finny Creek and dirty above that.
 
BASS: The bass fishing has slowed a little this week. The fish are still on the flat main lake points in 3' to 6' of water. The best bait right now is a 10" worm in plum or watermelon. With the lake being up a little there are a few fish in the willows. Buzz baits and big worms are working on these fish. Did have a report or some suspended fish in the tree rows next to deep water. Worms and jigs fished down to about 6' will work on these fish.
 
CRAPPIE: Same as last week. 6' to 10' of water on the inside tree rows and isolated trees. Minnows are your best bet. Had some nice fish come in yesterday off Pommie. There is a big algae bloom up the Osage so you might want to watch for that.
 
WHITES & HYBRIDS: These fish have slowed a little with the COE not running much water. There is still surface activity in the evenings. Looks like the hybrids are looking for small baits. Try a weighted popping cork with a 2" twister tail. Zara Spooks and hawg sticks are also picking up a few fish. They are in the same areas with KK Island producing the best.
 
CATFISH: Trot lines are the best bet for catfish right now. Set in 6' of water on the flats with 12" stages. Leeches are the best bait.  With the hot weather check your lines often.
 
That's it for this week from Sterett Creek Marina
                                                660-438-2280
                                                critter@dam.net
So till next week we bid you good fishin.
                          Tommy


July 14, 2004 - Table Rock Lake - Submitted by Pete Wenner's Professional Guide Service -   WATER LEVEL - 916.48  Normal Pool 915'  
JAMES RIVER  Upper 79-85
 MAIN LAKE  79-83
Water temp is finally start to warm up after staying in the high 70's (77-80) for the past month, due to below normal temperatures.  Lots of water running through the lakes from the heavy rainfalls & high lake levels , this should trigger the fish to group up better on the main lake points and as the water levels drop, the fish will get on the humps and drops in the river arms better as well

James River, Kings River, Upper White & Long Creek,

Kentuckies are starting to group up again on main river gravel humps and points in 18'-25-, and can be caught in !/2 & 3/4 oz. football jigs still seem to be producing best, with deep water close by,   Try Carolina rigged Chompers, 4" finesse worms drop-shotted.  As water levels continue to drop use some deep cranking baits should start working better such as DD-22's, Fat Free Shads. & Dt-16's in shad patterns.  In the heat of the day try going way up the James or Flat Creek and the other river arms and fish the channel swings with 1/4 oz jigs in brown or black or Texas Rigged 7"-9" worms orTeam Supreme Tournament French fries, Brush hogs, or lizards in green pumpkin, watermelon, or pumpkin colors. Watch for the shad activity on the flats in the same area, if shad are on the flats throw small crankbaits in 3'-6' running depths around the shad and any cover on the flats such as stumps, laydowns, & brushpiles.  Some fish are being caught on spinnerbaits and buzzbaits early in the upper river arms around lay downs and bushes.  In the Mid river the drop shot bite has slowed down, but should pick up when the weather stabilizes.
Main Lake-Kimberling City, Baxter, Campbell Point and Dam Areas
Fish long gradual sloping main lake points in 30'-40' with drop shot worms.  Some of the fish are on bottom and some suspended off bottom.  The key seems to be finding a point with lots of bait fish , we are catching fish suspended around 25'-35' over 50'-80' on top of submerged timber.  This should get better as the water warms up more. These areas have been real tough for me this past week, the bait fish are the key.  Find the shad and you'll find the fish.  Also try drop shotting 3"-4" grubs or chrome or white jigging spoons in the same areas. Good Luck!!

July 8, 2004 - Truman - Submitted by Sterett Creek - Mother nature took out her fury on us July 4th. We are open and operational. We had a couple of docks destroyed and lost a bunch of trees. We are working to get everything put back together witch is going to take some time. I won't be able to give you a fishing report this week due to lack of time. Best I can do is lake conditions, next week I'll get the report back up.
 I do want to thank all the people for the kindness and help we have received through this mess. You really never know how many friends you have until something like this happens, though to many to name I will never forget any of you.
 
 LAKE LEVEL:       708.93
WATER TEMP:       79 deg.
WATER CLARITY: Stained to clear. Tebo stained, Grand heavy stain, Little Tebo clear along with the Osage and both Pommies.
 
Until next week.
     Tommy
 
June 30, 2004 - Truman - Submitted by Sterett Creek - With the lake holding steady and the water temp. not changing it looks like a good 4th. of July. With everything holding steady I guess you could say that the fishing is holding steady also. Water clarity is the same with the exception of the Grand which I think has cleared a little. It still looks dirty but a lot of it is surface mud. The rest of the arms are very fishable.
 
LAKE LEVEL:         707.32
WATER TEMP:       76 deg.
WATER CLARITY: Heavy stain to clear.
 
BASS: The bass fishing is the same as it was last week. Flat points with 2' to 5' of water are the best bite. 10" worms in red shad or black and jigs in PBJ or black and blue. The fish seem to be holding real tight on timber. Had a good report this morning that a Rat L Trap on these same points ( early bite ) was producing some nice fish.
 
CRAPPIE: The crappie have picked up a little but still have a long way to go. There are a lot of 8 1/2" to 9 1/2" fish being caught. The big fish have not came up yet. Minnows on the flats in 6' to 10' of water on the trees is the place to look. My feelings are that until the water temp. gets to at least 80+ deg. the big crappie are going to stay where ever they are. You also have to remember that when its 80deg. on top at 15' its well less than that. We did have a couple of good reports on crappie way up Pommie and on Little Tebo.
 
WHITES and HYBRIDS: We have had an exceptional week on whites this week.  They have been surfacing just about everywhere. Crappie jigs on a 1/4 oz. head have been working well along with Rooster Tails. They are in all the same old areas.
The best area to look is from the dam to KK Island. Cemetery on Little Tebo is producing a lot of fish also.
 
CATFISH: Jugs are working really good. Perch, leeches and cut shad are the best baits. Set on the flats in 10' of water with stages set at 6'.
 
This weeks rankings from Sterett Creek are:
Whites & Hybrids:  # 1
Bass:                       # 2
Crappie:                  # 3
 
That's it for this week from Sterett Creek Marina
                                                   660-438-2280
                                                  critter@dam.net
 
With the July 4th. weekend please drive carefully and remember that our freedom came at a great cost. Thank a Vet.
 
So till next week we bid you good fishing.
                     Tommy

June 23, 2004 - Truman - Submitted by Sterett Creek - The lake conditions here on Truman are starting to improve. I guess when you don't have rain everyday this is a fact of nature. The water color is looking a lot better. Don't get me wrong the Grand is still dirty but it's not as dirty as it was. The water above Clear Creek is good. Both the Pommies are in real good shape along with the Osage. Little Tebo is also good. Big Tebo to Clear Creek is stained up pretty good but you can catch fish out of it. The COE has been pulling water just about everyday so the fishing has remained good.
 
LAKE LEVEL:         707.86
WATER TEMP:       75 deg.
WATER CLARITY: Clear to dirty
 
BASS: 11.52 lbs. in 3 hours seems to be a pretty good string of fish. That's what Jerry Lewis and Clint Rayburn weighed in last night to win the Hawg Fights. 2nd. went to Will Gutierrez and Bill Hass with 9.99lbs. Third went to Tom Novinska and Jim Leharas with 8.38lbs, we also had big bass weighing 4.47lbs. The way everyone talked if you weren't fishing a point you weren't catching fish. Most of the fish were in 2' to 4' of water with worms, ,jig and frog and charturse crank baits. Top worm colors were 7" blue fleck and 11" black depending on what color of water you were fishing. The PBJ jig tipped with a PBJ critter craw worked in all water. Like I said before the Grand is dirty but you can catch fish out of it.
CRAPPIE: We are hearing of a lot of small fish being caught on the summer pattern. The outside tree rows on the edge of the flats in 17' to 20' of water are holding bunches of little fish. Every now and then you will pull out a good keeper. There has been some good crappie taken shallow on the flats off isolated timber in 6' of water. Minnows are producing the best. The brush pile fish are doing pretty good in 15' to 20' of water on minnows also.
WHITES & HYBRIDS: We are still seeing lots of good hybrids come in. Dan Dunek had a 13.5 night before last and a 9.5 last night. They are still in all the same places and are hitting the 4" sassy shad with a 3/4oz. head. The whites are real active on our end of the lake. A 1/4 oz. jig head with crappie jig on the back with a poppin bobber has been working real well.
CATFISH: Trotlines are working the best in the shallow water on the flats. Leeches are the best of the best. 6' of water with stages set at a foot is the top producer. 
 
This weeks ratings from Sterett Creek are:
 Hybrids and whites:           # 1
 Bass:                                   # 2
Crappie:                               # 3
 
Thats it for this week from Sterett Creek Marina
                                                   660-438-2280
                                                  critter@dam.net
So till next week we bid you good fishin.
                         Tommy

June 23, 2004 - Table Rock Lake - Submitted by Pete Wenner's Professional Guide Service -   

WATER LEVEL - 916.41  Normal Pool 915'  
JAMES RIVER  Upper 79-83
 MAIN LAKE  79-81
Fishing has gotten tough in the past week, weights were way down this past weekend from the previous weeks tournaments, with winning stringers coming from the James River & Kings River.

James River, Kings & Long Creek,

3/4 oz. football jigs still seem to be producing best, fished 15'-25' on main river points with deep water close by, also on humps and drop offs,  try Carolina rigged Chompers, Team Supreme Tournament French fries, Brush hogs, or lizards in green pumpkin, watermelon, or pumpkin colors, and 7"-9" worms fished in the same areas.  Some fish are being caught on spinnerbaits and buzzbaits early in the upper river arms around lay downs and bushes.  In the Mid river the drop shot bite has slowed down, but should pick up when the weather stabilizes.
Main Lake-Kimberling City, Baxter, Campbell Point and Dam Areas
These areas have been real tough for me this past week, the bait fish are the key.  Find the shad and you'll find the fish.  Fish main lake gravel points starting from 25'-40' with 3/4 oz football jigs and 4" drop shot worms in watermelon, green pumpkin, or candy colors, a couple of feet off bottom.  These fish should start to bite beeter once again when the weather stabilizes and the thermocline develops. Also try chrome or white jigging spoons in the same areas. I've had some reports of fish being caught on Fat Free Shads and DD-22 crankbaits on secondary points with submerged timber @ 15'-20'.  Shad, again seems to be the key, look for shad and fish starting to gather up over the deeper water 50'-100' off these main lake gravel points and bluff ends, fish should be suspending at 25'-35'

June 16, 2004 - Truman - Submitted by Sterett Creek - The weather still isn't doing us any favors. Seems we get rain every day. The lake is still up 2' which is good for the white bass and hybrid fishing but seems to be keeping the crappie in the state of confusion. Lake conditions are still backwards with the Osage being clear and Big Tebo and the Grand being dirty. Both the Pommies are in good shape. The Osage is dirty above the County Line Bridge but good from Berry Bend to the dam. Little Tebo is also in good shape.

LAKE LEVEL: 708.22
WATER TEMP: 76 deg.
WATER CLARITY: Light stain to dirty.

BASS: The bass fishing is still fairly good. There has been several fish coming out of the dirty water on crank baits and big worms. Chartreuse small crank baits fished in 2' to 5' of water has been working well, along with 10" dark worms. These fish are holding off the timbered points, it doesn't seem to matter if it is a main lake or a secondary point. Top water is also working in the same areas using Pop R's and buzz baits. In the clearer water some of the fish are starting to move to their summer pattern. Jigs and big worms are picking up some fish suspended over deeper water about 6' down. Try the outside tree rows for these fish. Last nights hawg fights ended up with a 12.57lb. string caught by Chuck Strohman and Jeff Rahmer. @nd. went to Kenny Mason and Randy Jones with 9.95lbs. 3rd. went to Will Gutierrez and Bill Haas with 9.08. 4th. and big bass went to Marty Watson and Doug Long with 8.80 and a big fish of 5.58lbs. Congrats to all.
CRAPPIE: Lots of little fish are starting to show up. The summer pattern is starting but the little guys defiantly out number the big guys. The best bite is still using minnows on the outside tree rows in 20' of water fishing them 8' to 10' down. There have been a few fish taken out of cedars on the flats in 10' of water on minnows. The bluff bite hasn't started yet in our area. Guide Steve Blake has been catching limits of good crappie out of brush piles in 15' to 20' of water on minnows. The secret is graph the brush pile for depth and put the bait rite on top of the pile. Hopefully in another week or so the big fish will get going.
WHITES and HYBRIDS: The hybrid fishing remains good. We are seeing a lot of good fish coming in in the evenings. The 4" sassy shad with a 3/4 oz. head is the top producing bait. The dam area to KK Island is hottest area on the lake. The white bass are starting to surface with the Pop R and Rooster Tail working the best on them. Little Tebo seems to have a lot of surface activity. The evening bite seems to be the best .
CATFISH: Floating trot lines set in 5' to 6' of water with stages set about a foot has been taking some fish. Leeches are the top bait. With the temp. starting to rise it won't hurt to check your lines more often.

This weeks rankings from Sterett Creek Marina are:
Hybrids & Whites: # 1
Bass: # 2
Crappie: # 3
Catfish: # 4

That's it for this week from Sterett Creek Marina 660-438-2280 critter@dam.net
So till next week we bid your good fishin. Tommy

June 9, 2004 - Truman - Submitted by Sterett Creek - It seems this year everything is backwards. We are getting our spring rains in June instead of April and the fish that should be moving deeper are moving shallow. Water that is normally clear is dirty and the water that is normally dirty is clear, and all of this combined is putting an anglers ability to the test. The weather forecast for the rest of the week is a chance of showers everyday so we should be overcast making the fishing good.
 
LAKE LEVEL:            706.63
WATER TEMP:          76 deg.
WATER CLARITY:    Clear to dirty. Little Tebo lightly stained
                                       Big Tebo, heavy stain to above Clear
                                       Creek. Grand River dirty. The Osage,
                                       and both the Pommies are clear.
 
BASS: The bass fishing here on Truman is up and down to say the least. The stringers that were weighed in last weekend were a little lighter than normal. Team Supreme fished out of here on Sunday and it took about 14.5 lbs. of fish to win, with Jerry and Sally Crosswaite taking the honors. Last night in the Hawg Fights, Clint Rayburn and Marty Watson weighed in a winning stringer of 12.35 lbs.  and big bass weighing 4.31 lbs. 2nd. went to the Wallace boys with 7.82 lbs. 3rd went to Danny Johnson and Paul Scott with a string weighing 7.31 lbs. The best thing I have heard going is crankbaits fished shallow in the stained water. Firetiger is the best color and throw a small bait. Fish are in 2' to 3' of water, and about 1/2 way back in the coves. Deeper water needs to be close by. Points are still holding some fish, here again deep water has to be close by. Worms and jigs in black and blue are working the best. With the cloud cover the top water bite should start again.
 
CRAPPIE: Saturday we saw some really nice Osage River crappie. These fish were all 12" + fish. Summer pattern, 17' of water fishing minnows down about 7'. Trees along the edge of a flat that falls into deeper water is the place to start. There have been some crappie caught up on the flats out of the cedars in 10' of water on minnows. The good summer crappie fishing should break loose any day now. I talked to Marry Zych this weekend and he said he had some nice crappie up the Osage.
 
WHITES & HYBRIDS: The white bass fishing has slowed a little and I think  this is because they are not running water every day. We have been seeing a lot of surface activity in the evenings in the Little Tebo area. Popping corks with small jigs or twister tails have been working on these fish. Pop R's are also working on the surfacing fish. The 4" sassy shad in pearltruce with a 3/4 oz. head has been picking up some good hybrids in the dam area. Trolling is still working using big crank baits.
 
CATFISH: The trot line fishing is starting to produce some good fish now. We are starting to see some flat heads come in now on bluegill. Leeches on floating lines in about 6' of water with 1' stages are producing some nice chanels. The ditches are doing well.
 
This weekend we have the Midwest Labors Open Crappie Tourn. going out of Sterett Creek. For info you can call 816-985-1890.
 
 This weeks ratings from Sterett Creek Marina are:
 Whites & Hybrids:         # 1
 Bass:                              # 2
 Crappie:                         # 3
 
That's it for this week from Sterett Creek Marina
                                                  660-438-2280
                                                 critter@dam.net
With that we bid you good fishing.
                Tommy
 
June 8, 2004 - Table Rock Lake - Submitted by Pete Wenner's Professional Guide Service -   

WATER LEVEL - 915.90  Normal Pool 915'  
JAMES RIVER  Upper 81-85 
 MAIN LAKE  81-83

James River
Looks like the fishing on the James River is heating up!  Tournaments held this past weekend reported winning stringers coming out of the Upper James River.  Fish Carolina rigs, football jigs, and deep diving crankbaits 12'- 20' off main river flats and points, and around brush piles 15'-20' rigging baits-Brush Hogs, Baby brush hogs, Lake Fork ring frys, try 1/2 & 3/4 oz football jigs tipped with watermelon or green pumpkin twin tail grubs.  Crankbaits--D-t 16's & DD-22's & Fat Free Shads, in Citrus Shad & shad patterns, also parrot colors.  Look for gravel flats that extend way out off the bank with a drop, ledge, or creek channel adjoining the flats.  Most of the deep summer patterns are starting to produce fish on the main lake and mid river areas.  Fish are 28'-40' deep on main lake gravel flats and points, on bottom or just a few feet off bottom.  I'm also catching some fish suspended at 25'-35' over 50'-80' over submerged timber.  Bottom fish can be caught on 3/4 oz. football jigs tipped with twin tailed grubs, on Carolina rigged Chompers, Team Supreme Tournament French fries, Brush hogs, or lizards in green pumpkin, watermelon, or pumpkin colors.  Try 3/4 oz chrome or white jigging spoons.  Drop shot rigged 4" worms in browns or greens, or shad colored have worked best for me, will catch fish on bottom or suspended.  There have been some fish schooling early and late in the day.  Jointed Rapala's, Red Fins, or Spooks-chrome/black, or Smoky Joe colors.
 

Main Lake

 Most of the deep summer patterns are starting to produce fish on the main lake and mid river areas.  Fish are 28'-40' deep on main lake gravel flats and points, on bottom or just a few feet off bottom.  I'm also catching some fish suspended at 25'-35' over 50'-80' over submerged timber.  Bottom fish can be caught on 3/4 oz. football jigs tipped with twin tailed grubs, on Carolina rigged Chompers, Team Supreme Tournament French fries, Brush hogs, or lizards in green pumpkin, watermelon, or pumpkin colors.  Try 3/4 oz chrome or white jigging spoons.  Drop shot rigged 4" worms in browns or greens, or shad colored have worked best for me, will catch fish on bottom or suspended.  There have been some fish schooling early and late in the day.  Jointed Rapala's, Red Fins, or Spooks-chrome/black, or Smoky Joe colors.
Mid River

Mid river patterns are the same as above in the Main lake areas, except the further up river you go the fish will be shallower.  Drop shot & football jig fish have been 20'-30'.  Try Carolina rigging and deep crankbaits on main river flats and humps in 12'-20'/  I'm using DT 16's, Fat Free shads & DD-22's.  I'm also catching some fish on Texas rigged worms, tubes & 5/16b jigs fishing channel swings in the upper river and Flat Creek at 3'-10' deep.  Same patterns should also work in the Long Creek Arm and Kings River

May 26, 2004 - Truman - Submitted by Sterett Creek -
The holiday is over and the fishing was good even though the weather wasn't. The NOAA called for storms all weekend but luckily they all went around us. We had just enough rain to keep things interesting. Lots of nice whites and hybrids were brought in. I talked to Marty Zych and he said he had good crappie a couple of days last week. The bass fishing is not to bad and the cat fishing is good.
This week they are calling for great weather and the COE is still running water so it should be a god week of fishing.
 
LAKE LEVEL:         707.14
WATER TEMP:        73 deg.
WATER CLARITY:  Stained to dirty on the Grand. The dam area is very fishable. Big Tebo has a heavy stain to Clear Creek. The Osage is in real good shape along with Pommie.
 
BASS: The bass fishing here on Truman is interesting to say the least. Last night we caught fish on worms, jigs and top water, and missed fish on all the same. The main common denominator is that the fish were all on points. There are lots of short fish being caught right now. Kenny Mason and Randy James won the Hawg Fights last night with 6.78 lbs. They also had big bass weighing 5.00 lbs. 2 nd. was Dave Bradon and John Kruger with 5.49 lbs.
3 rd. went to Mike Friend and Carl Shipman with 2.36 lbs. Most of the other boats had 1 keeper and a bunch of shorts. The best bite right now seems to be main lake points in 4' to 8' of water. Blue or red worms are working along with PB&J jigs or black and blue jigs. Top water is picking up every day. Pop R's and buzz baits are the best bet. The points need to have timber and be fairly close to deep water.
CRAPPIE: The crappie are on a couple of different patterns now. There has been lots of crappie caught in front of the dam using drop shots and minnows. These fish are in about 16' of water. Cedars on the flats are also producing fish in 8' to 12' of water using minnows. Then there is the old stand by of the outside tree rows on the edge of the flats in 20' of water fishing minnows 10' deep.
WHITES: We saw a lot of good hybrids this weekend. Most of the fish came from the dam area. The 4" sassy shad seemed to be the top producer. Spoons were also working in the same area. Fish are still holding on the wier in about 15' of water.  KK island is another spot that is holding fish. Trolling deep diving crank baits took a lot of fish this week.
CATFISH: Jugs on the flats in 15' of water with 10' stages using leeches or hot dogs is working. Also shallow set floating trot lines in 5' to 6' of water using 12" stages baited with leeches or perch are starting to pick up some flats.
 
This weeks rankings from Sterett Creek Marina are:
Whites & Hybrids:          # 1
Bass:                               # 2
Crappie:                          # 3
 
Thats it for this week from Sterett Creek Marina
                                                 660-438-2280
                                                critter@dam.net
So till next week we bid you good fishing.
                         Tommy
 
June 1, 2004 - Table Rock Lake - Submitted by Pete Wenner's Professional Guide Service -   

WATER LEVEL - 915.90  Normal Pool 915'  
JAMES RIVER  Upper 76-81 
 MAIN LAKE  76-79

Most of the deep summer patterns are starting to produce fish on the main lake and mid river areas.  Fish are 28'-40' deep on main lake gravel flats and points, on bottom or just a few feet off bottom.  I'm also catching some fish suspended at 25'-35' over 50'-80' over submerged timber.  Bottom fish can be caught on 3/4 oz. football jigs tipped with twin tailed grubs, on Carolina rigged Chompers, Team Supreme Tournament French fries, Brush hogs, or lizards in green pumpkin, watermelon, or pumpkin colors.  Try 3/4 oz chrome or white jigging spoons.  Drop shot rigged 4" worms in browns or greens, or shad colored have worked best for me, will catch fish on bottom or suspended.  There have been some fish schooling early and late in the day.  Jointed Rapala's, Red Fins, or Spooks-chrome/black, or Smoky Joe colors.

James River

Mid river patterns are the same as above in the Main lake areas, except the further up river you go the fish will be shallower.  Drop shot & football jig fish have been 20'-30'.  Try Carolina rigging and deep crankbaits on main river flats and humps in 12'-20'/  I'm using DT 16's, Fat Free shads & DD-22's.  I'm also catching some fish on Texas rigged worms, tubes & 5/16b jigs fishing channel swings in the upper river and Flat Creek at 3'-10' deep.  Same patterns should also work in the Long Creek Arm and Kings River.