Going to be in the Branson area the first weekend of June. How is the boat traffic that time of the year? Are there sections of the lake that don't get as much boat traffic. Just looking for a area to fish and not have to fight all the big pleasure boats.
I’ve been there over July 4th weekend. Mornings and evenings are really not that bad in my opinion. I’m thinking you may be ok in June.
Others may have a different opinion but that has been my experience
Thanks Tom. I know that LOZ gets crazy as soon as the weather is nice.
Crazy. It gets worse every year.Originally Posted by ckarns
Going to be staying in the Reed Springs area. Is there a section of the lake I could launch from and fish? I'd rather trailer the boat than fight the waves from all the boats.
Aunt's Creek off of Hwy O or Cape Fair Marina off of 76. Both are Corps ramps
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Was looking at Cape Fair. It's about a 30 min drive from where we are staying. Also looked like there were plenty of coves to fish without having to travel to far on the water.
My place is in Cape Fair. If you want to PM me I can get you on a spot or 2. The boat traffic in the summer is going to be bad but the James isn't as bad as Kimberling city or the Dam.
Really it doesn't get going until 10 or 11 on the weekends so the mornings are usually pretty quiet. June is usually a decent time fishing wise.
I would recommend trying Reeds Spring Pizza. It doesn't look like much on the outside but the place is great !
I appreciate that. PM sent.
I’ll second the reeds spring pizza.
Lake gets crazy as soon as warm weather hits and COVID turned lake crowds up A LOT last year. Expect the same this year.
I didn’t think about the “Covid craze” and the increased traffic.
LOZ was a zoo this year too but I’ve learned to fish mornings and evenings. Personally, It didn’t stop me from fishing
They have to wake the kids up, eat breakfast, go to the store for drinks and snacks, then it's 10:00-12:00 by the time they get out. This year was bad, I'm at Cricket Creek at the very back of Long Creek and they ventured that far back like crazy this year. I think they are trying to avoid themselves which has more and more going to areas that were normally not as bad in years past.
Good thing I'm a morning person. Hopefully I can get a few hours of fishing in before the madness begins.
I fish Table Rock quite a bit myself on the upper end. The best thing to do, as others have noted in get out at the crack of dawn, plan on launching at 5 AM, and you'll get some relatively peaceful fishing until 10 or maybe 11 AM. There's usually a great bite first thing too. I've got a couple of gravel points I fish that time of year, I'll try a top water walk-the-dog bait a bit, but my go to rig is a c-rig with a Zoom UV Speed Craw. That first hour of daylight can be crazy good if you're on the right spot.
Another bite to look for that time of year once the traffic gets going is find a steep chunk rock bank that is getting hammered by boat wakes, the bass will get up right off the bank to feed on stuff that gets knocked around by the wakes. It's kind of a pain in the butt to deal with those wakes of course, but it can be worth it.
Does Table Rock get as rough as LOZ in the summer? I assume it doesn’t, but the comments on this thread have me wondering.
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Thanks for the info guys. Hopefully the lake won't be too crazy since I'll be there the week after Memorial Day weekend.
Not as bad as LOZ but not much better. It's definitely getting busier and busier every year. It all starts Memorial Day wknd and will be that way till Labor Day. Honestly the wk after Memorial Day will be busy but most don't get out till 10-11. Evening fishing can be really good that time of year also
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When I go there in warm weather I head up the James River above Point 15. The water is skinnier and shallower. Not too many of the ride around boats venture that far up.
T Rock is never that bad on boat traffic. Granted I primarily fish LOZ during the summer months (which is a washing machine), the Rock is wider generally speaking and has more open banks with less seawalls/bluffs that just bounce the waves around. I would run from one end of the rock to the other on pretty much any day and not pay much attention to boat traffic. I think the wind is much worse, especially when its blowing 25-30 mph.
Thought I'd bring this back up since I'm heading that way in about a month.
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