It’s that time of year again – smallmouth fishing on Table Rock Lake! Are you ready for smallmouth fishing? It’s one of my favorite times of year for fishing Table Rock Lake! We are starting to see much warmer days as spring progresses.
As of today, April l9, the water temperature on Table Rock Lake is in the upper 50’s, with surface temperatures rising quickly with warmer days ahead. In addition to that, we have a full moon which brings the first round of smallmouth into the shallows to spawn. Water temperature will rise quickly with the warmer days ahead.
It’s about time for smallmouth to be in shallower water in preparation of their spawning activities. As of this week, we will find ourselves enjoying some of the best fishing of the year. There is nothing like the thrill of setting the hook and seeing a fish come out of the water, run around your boat and oftentimes underneath it before finally being lifted from the water! Releasing the fish will help ensure continued good sport fishing on the lake.
All of this takes place with the right surface temperature and the moon phases affecting the behavior of the fish. Use swimbaits to catch the smallmouth in the pre-spawn mode. Once they move up on their spawning beds, use Ned baits. When the fish become tired of seeing a Ned bait, a drop shot dragged along a gravel flat can produce great results as well. There are some great drop-shot baits available from Kujawa Baits (Kujawa Baits.com.) and they are available in colors that the fish here on Table Rock just can’t resist.
Once the spawn has passed, it is important to keep an eye out for fish feeding on shad in the middle of the bays. The post-spawn period is a great time to throw a topwater bait, a surge bait or a Rapala shallow diving bait. A jointed topwater in a shad color is awesome for this purpose. Keep in mind that this can take place at the same time that other fish are spawning.
There will be surges of other fish moving to their beds with the spring New Moon and Full Moon periods. Also watch for shad spawning around docks as this results in both Largemouth and Spotted bass showing up.
Anytime you can get on the water is good but for me this is as good as it gets! Hopefully, you can make it to Table Rock Lake this spring and experience it.
