Going OLD School Fishing On Table Rock Lake, Branson, Missouri | Bass Angler Magazine
Let’s go off the grid and go old school fishing without using any type of fishing electronics .
By Chris Gibbons
In today’s time, fishing with electronics is almost a must, at least that’s what you’ve been told, but it’s cannot always be true.
Finding fish patterns is how you catch fish. I’ll break down three locations for winter fishing that will net you success here on the vast and beautiful Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
First, let’s take a deep dive into bank types and their locations in order to dissect areas where you will find and catch fish in the winter.
CHANNEL SWINGS
During the winter months, channel swings hold and produce those fat bass you like to catch. Here, those fat Spotted bass or (Kentucky bass) seem to be the vast majority of what were catching on these channel swings.
You must attack these channel swings from three separate vantage points. The main anatomy of a channel swing is a location where the channel makes contact with a bank or bluff wall. Your attack is to fish these channel swings three different ways. One, is to fish directly where the channel makes contact to the bank. Two, is to fish just before the channel contact and third fish directly after the channel leaves the bank.
I’ve found that bass will frequent each of these three areas while searching for bait fish or craw. Not all the fish will hit all three areas, some will hold to one while others will search all two or all three areas. Take your time and fish these areas and often I find myself fishing all three and turning around to re-fish the same area a second time. Focus on wash outs that go into the lake, these are good stop signs and hold fish.
BLUFF ENDS
During the winter months, bluff ends hold fish again in three separate areas of the bluff end. One, the inside of the bluff is where fish may stage while waiting on bait fish or craw to swim by or just sit there out of the current to rest. Two, on top of the bluff end out over deeper water. These fish will hug the bottom while searching for those craw and bait fish above them in the water column. Third, the fish will stage themselves in the current on the lake side of the bluff end to watch for food to wash or swim by.
NORTH BANKS
North banks to me product better than the other two locations I have mentioned. I generally stay on north rocky banks and fish it out in its entirely. The reason I focus so much of my time on these north banks is because you will find bluff ends and channel swings on north banks plus the north bank respectively receives more sunlight than any other bank on the lake. This in turn can make the fish more aggressive because they are a touch warmer and will chase baits more often.
You may find that all three vantage points I have listed can all be found on one long bank. That’s where I will spend a great deal of time in the winter and fish them good.
About the author.
Chris Gibbons from Shell Knob, Missouri outside of Branson, fishes and hosts the Table Rock Lake Fishing Report on Facebook. This report has close to 15,000 followers from 46 states and 7 countries.
