Fishing Report – April 20, 2016

Bull Shoals Lake Fishing Report

As of Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake?s elevation at 658.53 feet msl (normal conservation pool ? 659 msl).
(updated 4-13-2016) K Dock Marina (417-334-2880) said the surface water temperature is 54 to 57 degrees and the water is stained to clear. The bite is beginning to pick up around the K Dock area. Some good numbers of crappie are coming in. Anglers are using live minnows and Bobby Garland Swimming Minnows fished in 8 to 10 feet of water near timber and brush piles. The fish are not up on the banks, but that may change with some good days and nights of warm weather. White bass seem to be in the Beaver Creek arm of the lake. There aren?t many whites surface feeding on shad around the flats near K Dock. Walleye are slow on night crawlers and small crankbaits. Many short fish are being caught. The action is better up in the Power Site Dam area. Largemouth bass are biting well on Wiggle Warts, Alabama rigs and spinnerbaits. They also are being caught pretty regularly on finesse jigs and shaky head worms. They still haven?t moved out of prespawn patterns completely.
(updated 4-13-2016) Bull Shoals Boat Dock said said the water is in the low to mid-50s. Visibility is good around most of the lake out of the wind. Walleye have picked up in the last few days. The fish that have been caught did not have eggs in them, so they are likely finished spawning and are beginning to feed up and move off the banks for summer. Mnay crappie have been caught in the last week on 1/8- to 1/64-oz. jigs fishing along the banks in 8 to 15 feet of water. They are in the pre-spawn to spawning stage right now. Some bass are staged up in main lake pockets, but the larger creek arms and spawning flats on the sides of those creeks have been the best bet. Smallmouth are spawning, and a grub, hair jig or Carolina rig will work very well for them over rocky and gravelly points. Wherever you have some clay on the bank causing a small mudline is a good place to throw a Wiggle Wart or Storm Rock Crawler crankbait.

TAGS:

Leave a Comment